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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

The TSX Venture Exchange closed up 4.64 points to 789.34 Wednesday. The busiest trader on any Canadian exchange by far was a shell graduate, Todd Sexton's TSX-V-listed cybersecurity promotion, Identillect Technologies Corp. (ID). It rose 11.5 cents to 18.5 cents on 32.43 million shares, after the company said a magic word: blockchain. Identillect, which sells an e-mail encryption software called Delivery Trust, is not yet profitable. Today, it announced that it will use blockchain technology to further develop Delivery Trust.

A blockchain is a digital ledger that cannot be edited without leaving a trace. It is thus purported to be a highly secure tool for record keeping. Blockchain cheerleaders suggest that the technology can be used to keep secure records of anything from sales transactions and wire transfers to health care information and voting information. Various blockchain trials and pilot programs are in progress, with most of them being in the early stages. In a research lab in Washington State, the U.S. Department of Energy is looking into a potential blockchain system for managing power grids, keeping track of information such as power distribution and storage. In Asia, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority plan to work on a blockchain system for keeping their trade financing records. Here at home, Royal Bank of Canada (RY: $100.76) is looking into a blockchain system for transferring payments between its Canadian and U.S. branches. As well, Bank of Canada and TMX Group Ltd. (X: $71.77) plan to develop a blockchain system for securities clearing and settlement. In May, 2017, following a year-long trial, Bank of Canada concluded that blockchain technology was not yet capable of supporting a national interbank payment settlement system. Given all the fuss about blockchains, it is a wonder that we had survived this long without them.

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