Microsoft and Goldman Sachs Join Forces to Launch New Blockchain Network

Canton Network: The Privacy-Enabled Blockchain Solution

Microsoft and Goldman Sachs are among several financial institutions and technology companies collaborating on a new blockchain network aimed at institutional assets, according to a May 9 statement.

The Canton Network will be a privacy-enabled, interoperable blockchain network designed to connect “previously siloed” financial markets. Other participants in the network include BNP Paribas, Cboe Global Markets, Digital Asset, Paxos, Deloitte, and more. 

The network will begin testing its capabilities in July and will aims to offer better privacy and controls than existing technology while being able to achieve the scale and performance required by financial institutions, according to the announcement. 

Canton can currently connect to various applications through the smart contract language Daml and is expected to see its reach grow with more applications built using the specific coding language. 

Particularly, this can be applied to the Goldman Sachs Digital Asset Platform, which issues assets on the Blockchain.  

As reported, the recent collaboration is the result of years worth of blockchain testing and development by these institutions, as they have sought ways to simplify and speed up some of their most complex processes. 

The move follows growing interest from institutional investors in digital assets, as evidenced by Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment buying up $18 million in Coinbase shares last March. A recent Goldman Sachs study revealed that 32% of family offices currently have investments in digital assets.