HSBC Processed Over 3 Million FX Blockchain Transactions

Over three million transactions have been run through HSBC’s blockchain banking system in 2018 alone, making an average of $83,3 thousand per transaction.

While institutions are still drawing back from utilizing blockchain technology for their projects, HSBC most probably implemented a private blockchain module. The reason for the private blockchain network is to preserve the flexibility of the blockchain technology, but at the same time not to grant users anonymity. Being anonymous in the banking world is still not an option, at least in mainstream finance.

HSBC’s private blockchain is a clear sign that the bank, with over 7,500 offices in 80+ countries, wants to expand in the blockchain field. And with given the number of transactions run through HSBC’s blockchain, HSBC is set on closing the gap between crypto and fiat.

But overall, the trading volumes of FX transactions using blockchain are still rather low, compared to the total amount of trading volumes HSBC reported for 2018. HSBC’s blockchain implements shared databases and secure record keeping. Utilizing blockchain means all parties can have simultaneous access to real-time data. This makes fraudulent behavior on the blockchain almost impossible. Implementing blockchain also results in maximizing efficiency and lowering transaction costs and labor.

Other banks are still skeptical about the future of cryptocurrencies but are more and more open to implementing the technology behind them – distributed ledgers, tokenization of real-world assets, boosting liquidity and operating vast amount of data through blockchain.

HSBC took a center spot in global financial news outlets in May 2018 when the bank made a partnership with ING bank. An announcement made by HSBC described the execution of a live trading transaction with the help of R3’s Corda blockchain protocol. While the transaction itself was anything to brag about, the way HSBC used the Corda protocol has proven the usability of DLT and blockchain in the banking sector.

HSBC took the game a bit further – in their recent statement they described how a similar conventional exchange would take 5-10 days. Utilizing blockchain, however, helped HSBC complete the task in less than 24 hours.