Goldman Sachs recently filed a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office proposing to integrate blockchain technology with its settlement mechanism. The patent application, numbered US 11,605,143 2B, was filed on March 14 and outlines the technical and computational requirements for banks to use blockchain technology. The patent focuses on the technical aspects of smart contracts, which could be applied to a variety of financial instruments such as fractional reserve banking, insurance, bonds, securitized products and margin lending.

Goldman Sachs’ move is part of its blockchain promotion. Mathew McDermott, global head of the bank’s digital asset team, expressed strong support for blockchain applications in a recent interview. The bank’s private tokenization platform, GS DAP, was also used to sell $102 million worth of digital green bonds in Hong Kong, successfully reducing settlement time from 5 days to 1.

The patent application suggests that Goldman Sachs is exploring the use of blockchain technology to streamline its processes, especially those involving complex transactions. By using smart contracts, banks can automate the execution of various financial instruments, reducing the time and costs associated with manual processing.

The move is significant for Goldman Sachs as it demonstrates the bank’s commitment to exploring new technologies and improving its client services. The bank’s focus on smart contracts and blockchain technology could also be seen as a response to growing competition from fintech companies and other financial institutions adopting these technologies.

Goldman Sachs joins a growing number of financial institutions that are exploring the use of blockchain technology for various purposes. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the financial industry, and it’s exciting to see a major firm like Goldman Sachs actively taking steps to adopt it.