French central bank releases details of first blockchain test

Last week, the Bank of France quietly released new details about its work with blockchain.

The Banque de France said on Friday it had tested the technology envisioned for use in the management of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) credit identifier, or the identification of creditors within the single euro payments area. The trial marks the first publicly acknowledged blockchain test.

According to the central bank, one of the main participants in the test was a public sector organization, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations , which represented the French government as an investor through some subsidiaries. Paris-based startup Labo Blockchain and some unnamed French banks also participated in the test.

The Bank of France said testing began in July and culminated in the creation of a prototype tool for creating and managing SEPA credit identifiers in October . The central bank outlined weekly meetings with stakeholders as the project progressed and indicated that more detailed insights on the project would be released sometime next year.

The increased discussion about the tests comes in the months after the central bank called for more research on the topic, with the bank arguing that the tests should focus on both the positive and negative impacts that technology could have on the financial sector.

The Banque de France made this point in its announcement, noting in a translated statement:

“ This experience enabled all participating banks to share their analysis of the impact and opportunities of blockchain technology. ”

With this test, the French central bank becomes the latest institution to test blockchain technology.

Central banks in countries such as Japan, Sweden and Singapore have engaged in related work over the past year, and the European Central Bank announced a new research project in partnership with the Bank of Japan on Dec. 6. Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve published its first major research paper on blockchain.