Our friends and regular readers will know that Z/Yen has been working on our InterChainZ project with a consortium of interested parties (PwC, Suncorp and DueDil) to build Mutual Distributed Ledgers (MDLs) for real business applications in financial services, insurance and credit management. Although they share some technology principles with Blockchain, these MDLs are independent, standalone and extremely flexible to meet real business needs.

Many of those friends and readers have asked us to explain what MDLs are and how they can be used. Now that the consortium has completed the first phase of work, InterChainZ, we are in a good position to share answers to these questions and more (click here).

Sometimes however, words are not enough, which is why we have also put together a short film, “Sharing Ledgers for Sharing Economies: A Boring Introduction To Mutual Distributed Ledgers” that demonstrates why MDLs are not-so-new new, shows our MDLs in action and reveals some of the emerging business applications. Featuring a barnstorming cameo from our own Professor Michael Mainelli, this short film is a must see for those interested in this boring, old technology.

The next phase of work, IntereXchainZ, is launching now. This is another research project to build a number of functioning marketplaces based on MDLs. Contact Michael_Mainelli@zyen.com to find out more.