- Project Ubin, a Singaporean blockchain-based settlement system, is ready to be rolled out to commercial users
- The Monetary Authority of Singapore, JPMorgan, and Temasek are all involved in the project
- The platform is almost ready for use almost four years after its conception
Singapore’s Project Ubin, a blockchain-powered collaboration between the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), JPMorgan, and investment giant Temasek that hopes to enable faster and cheaper international settlements is ready for commercial rollout. The project has now officially cleared the fifth and final phase, bringing almost four years of work to fruition, and unleashing the potential of blockchain technology into Singapore’s financial system.
Project Ubin Four Years in the Making
The focus of Project Ubin has been a blockchain platform that allows payments in different currencies to be carried out on the same network, utilizing blockchain’s superior speed and reduced costs to clear cross-border settlements.
The concept was hatched in November 2016 as a collaborative operation between MAS and Singapore’s financial services industry with the aim of exploring the use of blockchain technology for clearing and settlement of payments and securities, with JPMorgan and Temasek brought on board to offer their expertise.
Blockchain Shows its Potential Once Again
MAS announced the “successful conclusion of the fifth and final phase of Project Ubin” yesterday, stating in a report that workshops carried out with “more than 40 financial and non-financial firms” validated the claimed benefits of the Project Ubin platform and clearly illustrates that Project Ubin has passed the benchmarks set in 2019 where MAS sought to “determine the commercial viability and value of the blockchain-based payments network.”
The report outlines the key findings made by the Project Ubin team, including carrying out successful multi-currency payment settlement, confirmation of increased speed and reduced costs within those transfers, and “integration with other blockchain-based platforms to enable end-to-end digitalisation across many industries and use cases.”
