Varun Resh
Fintech & Emerging Technologies
Back in 1982 “The Byzantine Generals Problem” explained how the IT systems should handle information in adversarial scenarios, which is considered by many as the origin of the “Distributed Ledger Technology” as a concept.
Currently, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is a common term industry refers to when designating multiple systems operating in a decentralised manner. It is a distributed database or shared ledger that records digital transactions across multiple servers in a secure, distributed, and verifiable way.
The technology is proving to be especially useful in providing secure data storage, reducing transaction costs and time, and increasing transparency in enterprise markets. Designed to enable digital assets to be tracked and transferred securely and efficiently, DLT is used in a variety of applications, including financial services, supply chain management, healthcare, real estate, and voting.
Some of the most popular examples of DLT technologies are public blockchain networks like Ethereum, Quorum, Hyperledger and Corda among many others.
The DLT networks differ from each other in several ways, including the consensus protocols used, the type of data stored, the amount of privacy and scalability, and the type of governance structure employed.
Ethereum is a public blockchain with a Turing-complete scripting language that enables the creation of decentralised applications (dApps), smart contracts, and other features like decentralised finance (DeFi). Quorum is an enterprise-focused Ethereum-based platform that supports private and permissioned transactions. Hyperledger is an open-source platform that provides a modular architecture for enterprise solutions, and Corda is a distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform designed specifically for enterprise applications.
Each of these technologies has its own unique features and advantages, and they each have different approaches to privacy, scalability, and governance. It is important to consider these differentiating factors when deciding which DLT network to use.
Financial institutions and enterprises can test and evaluate different DLT networks by running pilot programmes, participating in proof-of-concepts, and establishing partnerships with DLT providers. Pilots and proof-of-concepts enable organisations to test the technology in a real-world setting and assess its potential use cases and performance. Partnerships with fintechs and other DLT solution providers allow organisations to gain access to their expertise and technical support as well. It is also important to review the security, governance, legal framework and compliance of the DLT network and its infrastructure as part of the technology or vendor evaluation. Finally, organisations should consider the scalability of the network and the costs associated with using it.
While blockchain-as-a-service/DLT networks-as-a-service platforms support seamless development and prototyping of applications across multiple networks, flexibility at the infrastructure level is difficult as the foundational modules are abstract within the platforms. Evaluation of organisational KPIs be it business level, security or compliance, is also key for the stakeholders which is missing in the service platforms.
NayaOne DLT Sandbox enables financial institutions and enterprises to
- Run secure, private and permissioned pilots and proof-of-concepts
- Test the performance of different DLT networks
- Gain access to a secure, private and permissioned DLT network
- Access to expertise and technical support
- Evaluate security, governance, legal framework and compliance of the DLT network and its infrastructure
- Test scalability of the network and the associated costs
NayaOne DLT Sandbox is the platform of choice for financial institutions and enterprises to deploy and test their DLT-based applications. It allows them to evaluate the performance of different DLT networks and gain access to a secure, private and permissioned DLT network of their choice through our Digital Transformation Platform. Additionally, the platform provides access to expertise and technical support across Distributed Ledger Technology providers. It also enables organisations to evaluate the security, governance, legal framework and compliance of the DLT network and its infrastructure. Organisations host events like DLT hackathons/techsprints through the platform for idea generation and product innovation.
Institutional users can easily deploy sample DLT networks using NayaOne Cloud Sandpit templates to get started. Additionally, large scale applications can be tested using various container management and auto scaling tools available with cloud services providers.
- Quorum
- Hyperledger Besu
- Hyperledger Fabric
- R3 Corda
- Ethereum
- Polymesh
Other public blockchain infrastructure providers like Polygon, Stellar are also available on the platform.
Wide range of use cases can be developed using NayaOne DLT Sandbox across sectors and industries.
- Real-time settlements across asset classes
- Digital asset tokenisation infrastructure
- Digital asset custody solutions
- Smart contracts for document exchange
- Digital identity management solutions
- Traceability solutions
- Smart contracts for payments
Our experience working this way suggests financial services firms can halve their time to market with new DLT technology. Using NayaOne’s Digital Transformation Platform, synthetic data, tech marketplace and a Digital Sandbox discovery & evaluation can be delivered in 6 weeks.
NayaOne provides Digital Sandboxes that support any type of technology in an off-estate environment. Public cloud hosted, with strong Governance and controls, we also provide synthetic data and a marketplace of Fintech vendors to enable our end-to-end platform that transforms go-to-market times.
