Blockchain consortium Hyperledger loses members
More than 15 members of blockchain consortium Hyperledger have either cut financial support or quit the project over the past few months.
According to documents seen by Reuters, CME Group, Deutsche Börse, R3 have downgraded their membership starting at the end of January 2018.
Previously all premier members of the group, they will downgrade to a general membership.
Not being discouraged by the move, Hyperledger executive director Brian Behlendorf says the group has seen “tremendous growth in membership” in 2017.
Commenting on the downgrade, Behlendorf says “members who were part of the initial December 2015 cohort shift their spending priorities but remain members of the organisation”.
He adds: “We have seen others who never really engaged decide not to renew. This is normal and expected.”
According to Hyperledger, premier members are provided with board seats in the consortium and pay a fee of $250,000 a year. General memberships range from $5,000 to $50,000 based on the size of the companies.
Hyperledger was launched in 2015 led by the Linux Foundation to develop blockchain for businesses.
Banks and other corporations have invested millions of dollars in developing blockchain technology in the hopes it can help “simplify” the costly record-keeping process. To speed up the development, many have formed or joined industry groups including the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance and R3.
The news highlights how large firms have become more selective with their blockchain efforts as the technology matures.
Earlier this year, JP Morgan Chase left R3 following the departure of Goldman Sachs Group, Banco Santander and others.
The news also came amidst the investing boom in cryptocurrencies and blockchain start-ups, which saw the price of Bitcoin hit a record of almost $18,000.
Hyperledger has more than 180 members, 18 of which will be premier members at the end of January 2018. It released its first enterprise-grade blockchain this year.
Membership in Hyperledger also requires a separate membership with the Linux Foundation.
