Amazon To Host Blockchain Playground

Late last week, Amazon Web Services revealed its latest B2B initiative through a collaboration with Infosys to help the enterprise ditch legacy IT systems and migrate to the cloud.

Already, AWS is at it again with its corporate solutions, though this time with a different focus.

Reports Monday (May 2) said Amazon Web Services will join with Digital Currency Group to create a Blockchain-as-a-Service solution for financial services firms. Digital Currency Group is a top backer of the distributed ledger technology, reports in Forbes said.

Their collaboration will focus on these companies’ abilities to experiment with blockchain technology, and link blockchain firms within the Digital Currency Group portfolio to test their solutions out with FinServ players.

“Today in financial services, distributed ledger technology is at the forefront of any discussion related to innovation,” said AWS head of worldwide financial services business development Scott Mullins in a statement. “AWS is working with financial institutions and blockchain providers to spur innovation and facilitate frictionless experimentation.

“DCG is a recognized leader in distributed ledger technology, and we are excited to work with them and their portfolio companies to provide laboratory environments for enterprise experimentation with blockchain technology on AWS,” the executive continued.

DCG’s portfolio includes Chain, RSK Labs and others that already use Amazon Web Services to facilitate their blockchain solutions for the FinServ sector, according to reports; its total portfolio consists of more than 70 firms in the blockchain and bitcoin space.

“At DCG, one of our fundamental beliefs is that the venture capital model has to evolve to enable disruption in financial services, and AWS was a natural collaborator given most of our portfolio relies on the AWS Cloud,” DCG director of community Meltem Demirors said in another statement. “As we thought about how to help portfolio companies grow and scale while simultaneously supporting corporate discovery and experimentation, it became clear that we would need to collaborate with a technology infrastructure provider like AWS to help us build a platform for experimentation.”

Backers of Digital Currency Group include MasterCard, Western Union and other venture capitalists, the publication added.