Linux Foundation's Hyperledger Project

The Linux Foundation's Hyperledger Project, an open source blockchain working group, announced that it has received code contributions from across its 30 founding members, which will be reviewed by its newly-formed technical steering committee.

The Hyperledger brand was donated to the Linux Foundation's blockchain initiative by Blythe Masters' Digital Asset Holdings. Technical contributions have also come from the likes of IBM, Blockstream and Ripple. The founder members include technology providers such as ConsenSys, Credits, Guardtime, Symbiont and R3CEV, the consortium shared ledger standards group with 42 banks backing it.

The Hyperledger Project said its technical steering committee (TSC), made up of technical experts, is committed to open and transparent discussion, processes and decision-making. This group will oversee the project's technical direction and working groups as well as manage multiple contributions to the code base. The TSC will be evaluating proposed contributions and go through an open community process to build out the initial and unified codebase.

The Hyperledger Project aims to create a cross-industry open standard for distributed ledgers, so that virtually any digital exchange with value, such as real estate contracts, energy trades, marriage licences, can securely and cost-effectively be tracked and traded, it said in a statement. The Hyperledger Project also said a board of directors will guide business decisions, marketing and ensure alignment between the technical communities and members. Nominations are currently open for TSC members.

Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation, said: "The Hyperledger Project has ramped up incredibly fast, a testament to how much pent-up interest, potential and enterprise demand there is for a cross-industry open standard for distributed ledgers. Working on its own even the largest global corporation could not match the speed at which our new members are moving blockchain technology forward. Such a broad effort and investment is sure to have a great impact on our personal and professional lives."

Nick Williamson, CEO and founder of the blockchain startup Credits, said in a statement: "Credits is delighted to be contributing to the open source Hyperledger project and bring our expertise to the first widespread initiative focused on applying blockchain technology outside of cryptocurrency. The Linux Foundation's Hyperledger will allow us to find real world blockchain solutions to the many challenges in authenticity, provenance and reconciliation which enterprises face today."

Founding members of the initiative include: ABN AMRO, Accenture, ANZ Bank, Blockchain, BNY Mellon, Calastone, Cisco, CLS, CME Group, ConsenSys, Credits, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Deutsche Börse Group, Digital Asset Holdings, Fujitsu Limited, Guardtime, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, IntellectEU, J.P. Morgan, NEC, NTT DATA, R3, Red Hat, State Street, SWIFT, Symbiont, VMware and Wells Fargo.