Call it another vote of confidence for the blockchain.
Hyperledger from Hyper, which provides private blockchains to financial institutions, was bought by Digital Asset Holdings, Bloomberg reported yesterday. San Francisco-based Hyperledger won a place in Bank Innovation‘s 2015 DEMOvation Challenge, and was a semi-finalist at Innotribe’s 2015 Startup Challenge as well.
At Innotribe, Hyper CEO Dan O’Prey stated his company was piloting an offering for a consortium of Tier 1 banks. DAH has a similar project in the works — so the sale may represent shutting down a rival. (H/T: @21stcenturycfo)
Hyperledger calls Ripple Labs, Ethereum, and Bitcoin its rivals, though it is unique in that group for divorcing the blockchain from cryptocurrency entirely, thereby, at least in theory, increasing its appeal to cryptocurrency-averse banks.
Digital Asset Holdings’ stated mission is to reduce settlement latency and counterparty risk, and it is assembling a formidable array of blockchain technology and talent to do just that. It also acquired Budapest-based Bits of Proof yesterday, it announced.
Digital Asset Holdings launched in March and has offices in New York, Tel Aviv, and Budapest. Its CEO is former JPMorgan Chase executive Blythe Masters.