Gary Cohn Will Become An Adviser To Spring Labs

After leaving the Trump administration in March, former White House Economic Adviser Gary Cohn will serve in an advisory role for Spring Labs. The startup taps into blockchain technology to help banks exchange credit data, CNBC reported.

“I have been very interested in blockchain technology for a number of years, and Spring Labs is developing a network that could have profound implications for the financial services sector, among others,” Cohn said in an announcement. “I am excited to actively support the Spring Labs team in the development of this important business and network.”

Spring Labs, which has notched roughly $15 million in funding, was started by members of the board and team behind the Avant lending platform. It already counts former Transunion CEO Bobby Mehta as an advisory board member.

Blockchain technology is making ever-more inroads into various verticals to convey data and payments, according to a recent report from audit, assurance, consulting and tax services provider PwC, and appears to be moving away from cryptocurrencies in the process.

In fact, PwC gives a sense of just how prevalent this is becoming, writing in its Global Blockchain Survey 2018 that responses from 600 executives across 15 territories indicate an enthusiastic embrace of distributed ledger technology (DLT). As many as 84 percent of the polled firms are involved with DLT, the survey found. “Companies have dabbled in the lab,” the company wrote. “Perhaps they’ve built proofs of concept. Everyone is talking about blockchain, and no one wants to be left behind.”

PwC noted that research firm Gartner believes blockchain will help generate annual business values of $3 trillion within 12 years, and will be responsible for as much as 20 percent of global economic infrastructure. Among the verticals in which blockchain is finding purchase is financial services. The most recent examples are varied, with the World Bank launching the first bond on a blockchain, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) reporting the first bond to be created and transferred across seven investors in the blockchain.