https://www.miningweekly.com

Blockchain tech coming to commodities, Masters tells LME

10th October 2018

By: Bloomberg

  

Font size: - +

LONDON – The blockchain is coming to commodity markets, Blythe Masters told guests at the London Metal Exchange annual dinner during LME Week.

The virtual ledger technology underlying cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin promises greater confidentiality, fewer paper exchanges, better provenance and a boost in productivity, the former JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive said in a speech at the gathering Tuesday night.

Masters, the wunderkind who made MD at JPMorgan at 28, went on to become head of global commodities and helped develop the credit-default swap. Now as the chief executive officer of New York tech startup Digital Asset Holdings she’s pitching blockchain as a way to revolutionise supply chains.

“Supply chains are notoriously complex and inefficient,” Masters said. “This is especially true in the metals and mining industry where many operational and commercial practices remain inefficient and antiquated, leading to critical data omissions, security vulnerabilities, expenses, corruption, and unethical provenance.”

The technology is finding a natural home in commodity markets, where it’s seen as a means to track material through supply chains in gold, diamonds and oil. Banks including Standard Chartered, which was ensnared by a scandal involving forged commodity-storage receipts, have said they’re looking at the technology to address the risk of multiple-invoice fraud.

Masters addressed about 2 000 metals producers, buyers, brokers and investors at the LME dinner – a key event during the week-long industry gathering. Previous speakers have sometimes used the opportunity to rail against the encroachment of technology into the LME, where prices are still set via an open-outcry trading ring.

Blockchain has implications for markets, from mining through shipping to trading, Masters said. There are “tens if not hundreds” of projects under way, she said.

“Blockchain facilitates the exchange of critical trade documents, bills of lading, letters of credit between connected users securely and confidentially,” Masters said. “Clearly the indications for metals mining, shipping, storage, and logistics industries are nontrivial.”

Edited by Bloomberg

Comments

The functionality you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION