Central Bank Governor Loi Bakani described the blockchain trials underway at the Bank of PNG and introduced the PNG Digital Commerce and Cryptocurrency Association for the growing number of Papua New Guinea tech entrepreneurs and businesses interested in blockchain technology.

Banks and central banks around the world are experimenting with blockchain technology. They include Bank of America, HSBC, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Bank of England, People's Bank of China, Bank of Canada, the National Bank of Cambodia, and the Central Bank of India.

Banks
Beyond partnerships, banks have also invested heavily into internal R&D. In 2016, JP Morgan recently announced that it had earmarked $9 billion to explore technologies like blockchain. Bank of America is looking to gain a first mover advantage by having filed close to 15 blockchain patents, with another 20 in its pipeline.

Capital market applications is another area of interest for the global banks. Deutsche Bank has tested a corporate bond platform that uses smart contracts to issue and redeem bonds while Mitsubishi UFJ is working on a proof of concept for promissory notes.