On November 19, the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) published Goldman, Sachs & Co.’s patent application 20150332395 or “Cryptographic Currency For Securities Settlement.” Described are “ […] methods for settling securities in financial markets using distributed, peer-to-peer, and cryptographic techniques ” using a cryptocurrency named SETLcoin. The application lists Paul Walker and Phil J. Venables as the inventors of the technology.
Paul Walker is the co-head of technology at Goldman and a member of the Board of Directors of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC). According to Nathaniel Popper’s book “ Digital Gold ” and his adaptation for American Banker, “ When Goldman Sachs Began Flirting with Bitcoin ,” Walker led a panel to educate the banks clients about virtual currencies. Popper writes that Walker, “indicated that the bank was taking a hard look at how the blockchain might be used to change basic things about how banks do business.”
Phil Venables, managing director and chief information security officer at Goldman Sachs has been described by American Banker as an “outspoken industry leader.”
The patent application addresses chain of custody of an asset, counterparty risk and settlement through a cryptocurrency called SETLcoin. The patent describes a colored coin scheme referred to as a PIC or “Positional Item inside Cryptographic currency”: […] For example, dollars available on the SETLcoin network represented by, e.g., PIC ‘USD’ may be authoritatively issued by, for example, the U.S. Treasury.” SETLcoin, an amalgamation of “settlement” and “coin,” boasts near instantaneous execution and settlement: […] cryptographic currency transactions are independently and extemporaneously generated, verified, and executed within the network, without the risks associated with traditional clearing houses that can delay settlements for several days .” Further, the application defines a cryptocurrency or “cryptographic currency” as a […] digital medium of exchange that enables distributed, rapid, […]
