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Rotterdam lab to put Blockchain under the microscope

[ September 21, 2017   //   ]

The Municipality of Rotterdam and the Port of Rotterdam Authority have opened a ‘BlockLab’ to develop concrete applications and solutions based on blockchain technology. It has been financed by the two partners with the support of regional development corporation InnovationQuarter.

The partners say that Blockchain is one of the most crucial fields in innovation today, allowing users to conduct transactions without involving a third party. Data technology guarantees the necessary checks and balances and ensures that the transaction is processed automatically. This makes it possible to structure large-scale networks, chains and markets far more efficiently than before – without the need for a dominant, regulating party.

However, pointed out Rotterdam’s deputy mayor for economic affairs Maarten Struijvenber:  “There’s this huge buzz about Blockchain, but actually, there aren’t that many fully functional applications. We’ll be changing this with BlockLab. This is important, because we need real innovations to launch the next economy.”​

One of the first concrete projects is a Blockchain application for stock financing in the port logistics sector, which was developed in partnership with Exact and ABN AMRO.

BlockLab will be starting with a core team of five, who work from the Cambridge Innovation Center in Rotterdam. They will also work with Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences to develop a curriculum intended to marshal the influx of talented new Blockchain researchers.

 

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