Facebook is focusing the initial discussions around its cryptocurrency project as a preemptive strike against the privacy and legal concerns the public and politicians have about the huge social network.

Facebook unveiled plans for a new cryptocurrency that the social-media giant hopes will one day trade on a global scale much like the U.S. dollar.

MoneyGram International will use Ripple's blockchain to boost foreign exchange settlement for international payments.

Facebook's Libra, or GlobalCoin, will be cryptocurrency's largest test — fueled by a collection of huge investors that will determine if mainstream merchants and consumers will actually use a payment system featuring an alternative currency.

Distributed ledgers are already revolutionizing international transactions and trade finance. The added stability will bring about even greater adoption, argues Neutral's Matt Branton.

The Los Angeles company has established a network that is designed to help verify the identities of consumer and small-business borrowers. It says 20 lenders are participating and that it is trying to recruit more.

The social network's GlobalCoin has the audience to be a huge currency but it may not deliver on the concept of decentralization that underpins the cryptocurrency industry, contends Richard Dennis, founder and CEO of temtum.

State Street, BNY Mellon, UBS and Credit Suisse are among the banks that have created a company to bring their idea of a utility settlement coin to life.

From improving call center operations to advancements in voice banking and more, distributed ledger technology has the potential to radically improve data security.

Subhankar Sinha, the bank’s new head of blockchain, says its partnership with Bakkt is part of a larger effort to figure out what it would look like to be a custodian for digital assets.