Bank of Lithuania plans wider role for blockchain platform

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The Bank of Lithuania has said it is considering wider applications of its blockchain platform beyond financial services, following the completion of its third sandbox development phase.

The Lithuanian central bank described the ambitious plans for its LBChain project in a wrap-up meeting held this week, with blockchain project manager Andrius Adamonis keen to spell out applications beyond the financial sectors.

According to Adamonis, the central bank is also looking at how firms in the energy, transport and healthcare sectors could be set to benefit from blockchain technology through the platform, in addition to its role for finance companies.

It comes as the central bank announced it was planning to launch the platform in late 2020, with Q4 earmarked for the roll out of the technology.

This will also allow the bank time to finalize arrangements with the fintech firms and service providers currently engaged in delivering the LBChain project.

Throughout the pilot, the bank has seen firms including Deloitte, IBM and Tieto work with fintech startups to develop their own solutions powered by the technology, with some 11 firms in total researching and building on the platform.

Adamonis hailed the sandbox project as a success, pointing to significant overseas investment in the technology, as well as strategic partnerships with academic institutions.

According to reports from the meeting, the bank is optimistic about the future prospects of the platform, as firms move towards more real world implementations of the technology.

Adamonis said the bank would now look to work more closely with firms internationally, as well as building on public-private sector partnerships to develop its blockchain infrastructure.