Key Takeaways
- R3 has reportedly entered initial discussions with Ava Labs, Adhara, and the Solana Foundation.
- Last year, the blockchain company announced its plans to cut 20% of its staff.
- Private blockchains have some drawbacks compared to their public counterparts.
Blockchain company R3 is exploring a number of strategic options for its future, including selling the company.
The Temasek-backed U.S. company has reportedly entered initial discussions with several different companies.
R3 Considers Sale
According to a Bloomberg report, Temasek-backed R3 has talked with Ava Labs, the Solana Foundation, and Adhara over the last six months.
The initial discussions explored various possibilities, including a complete sale, a joint venture, and a minority stake sale.
R3 is a blockchain software firm known for developing Corda, an enterprise blockchain platform designed specifically for regulated industries like banking, insurance, and healthcare.
Did Something Go Wrong?
Founded in 2014, the company started as a consortium of over 70 financial institutions to explore blockchain’s potential in finance.
Unlike traditional blockchains, Corda is a permissioned platform, meaning only authorized participants can join.
In 2018, R3 raised $122 million from over 40 investors, including Barclays and UBS. It marked one of the largest funding rounds for a blockchain company at the time.
However, despite its success, the company announced a 20 percent of its staff last year. The move aligned with fellow blockchain firms Chainalysis and Binance, which announced similar cuts to their workforce.
The sources told Bloomberg that large traditional finance firms continue expressing interest in blockchain technology despite adoption being slower than initially expected.
Private Blockchains
While offering some benefits over their public counterparts, private blockchains have some notable drawbacks that may affect the speed at which they’re adopted in the mainstream.
M. Seun Salisu, Founder and CEO of RD Group, wrote in a blog post that private blockchains can provide greater control and privacy to the network’s owners “since only authorized parties can participate in them.”
“These networks are faster than public blockchains because they don’t require solving complex algorithms before adding new transactions,” he added.
However, these blockchains, typically managed by a single entity or a consortium, are often less decentralized, which can lead to reduced trust among participants compared to public blockchains.
Private blockchains are also more expensive to run than public blockchains, making them a more costly option for businesses.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
