The Right Way to Do Blockchain Consortiums

2019 will be the year the rubber meets the road for blockchain consortia.If 2017 was a buzzy time that saw a number of successful proofs-of-concept launch, 2018 was a more sedate period when the lawyers got together to develop the framework under which consortia could operate. However, 2019 will be the year that these platforms go live and expand across commodities, processes, markets and geographies. By now, the benefits of the technology have been demonstrated; the next step is to make this technology work at scale, that is, to build the shared platform that addresses industry challenges, benefits the majority of market participants and convinces the transacting ecosystem to embark on the journey. The consortium model The preferred vehicle for launching enterprise-grade blockchain platforms is the consortium. The idea is simple: If we as a group have enough volume and can drive sufficient liquidity across our platform, the rest of the market will join and transact. Market participants working with their peers have an edge over tech start-ups when it comes to creating a common approach and driving adoption of the platform.