IBM is expanding cryptocurrency adoption beyond Stellar, meeting with 20 central banks to explore blockchain-based digital currencies and tokenizing assets like securities, commodities, and utilities across enterprises.
IBM's blockchain head Jesse Lund revealed the company is meeting with 20 central banks, primarily from G20 nations, to explore issuing fiat cryptocurrencies on blockchain networks. While IBM's current work centers on Stellar and its lumen cryptocurrency for cross-border payments, the company is expanding into tokenizing securities, commodities, and utility tokens for enterprises. Lund expects smaller central banks in Asia and North America to issue digital currency denominations this year. IBM is also exploring partnerships beyond Stellar, including work with Sovrin Foundation and Hyperledger Fabric, signaling convergence between public and permissioned blockchain systems for enterprise applications.