JPMorgan Said to Consider Spinning Out Quorum Blockchain Unit
JPMorgan is in early stages of weighing whether to spin out its Quorum blockchain project into a seperate company.
(Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. is in the early stages of weighing whether to spin out its Quorum blockchain project into a separate company, according to a person with knowledge of the deliberations.
The software, created in 2016 and running on top of the Ethereum blockchain, is overseen at the bank by Amber Baldet. The aim is to create a digital ledger tailored for use by private enterprise clients such as banks, manufacturers and corporations. Companies with Quorum-based projects include Microsoft Corp., ING Groep NV, IHS Markit Ltd. and Pfizer Inc.
No decision has been made on what to do with the venture, according to the person, who asked not to be named discussing confidential talks. JPMorgan executives are weighing whether Quorum might benefit in the long run from operating independently, supporting open-source projects that attract additional partners, the person said.
“We continue to believe distributed ledger technology will play a transformative role in business, which is why we are actively building multiple blockchain solutions,” JPMorgan spokesman Brian Marchiony said in a statement. “We’re not going to comment on speculation, but Quorum has become an extremely successful enterprise platform even beyond financial services and we’re excited about its potential.”
The Financial Times reported earlier Thursday that the bank is working on a potential spinout.
To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Leising in Los Angeles at mleising@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Nick Baker, David Scheer
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