Another Blockchain

The New York Times reported late yesterday that some 30 companies, including Microsoft and JP Morgan Chase, are “joining forces to create a new kind of computing system based on the virtual currency network Ethereum.”

The new organization, a nonprofit, is part of a broader movement to harness the technological concept known as the “blockchain.”

Blockchains are distributed databases that maintain a continuously growing list of ordered records, called blocks. They offer a means for unrelated computers and companies to simultaneously collect and store information without relying on a central authority.

IBM has, in a separate effort, made a big push into the blockchain business, writes the Times, as well as leading a separate collaborative project known as the Hyperledger Foundation.

The Hyperledger project is an open-source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies.

You can learn more about IBM’s blockchain efforts here.