A team of banks led by UBS Group Inc. (UBS) of Switzerland announced Wednesday the development of a blockchain-based solution aimed at settling transactions faster and more securely, while improving capital efficiency. UBS, which first unveiled the project in September, has been joined by ICAP PLC, Deutsche Bank AG (DB), Banco Santander SA (SAN) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BK), which plan to test their "Utility Settlement Coin" (USC), as the system is called, in a "real-market" environment.
In a statement released Wednesday, the team described USC as "a digital cash model aimed at facilitating payment and settlement for institutional financial markets." USC will be convertible at parity with a bank deposit in the currency of the transaction, with different versions corresponding to the dollar, euro, pound, Swiss franc and others.
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