LONDON (Reuters) - Oil majors and trading firms can start finalizing crude oil deals on a live blockchain-based platform for the first time, in a move that could revolutionize the market. FILE PHOTO: A BP logo is seen on a petrol station in London November 2, 2010. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett Commodities trading firms have piloted similar schemes in recent years as blockchain technology has the potential to drastically cut costs in an environment of razor-thin profit margins. London-based...

(Repeats to additional subscribers) LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Global banks and trading firms are launching the first blockchain-based platform for financing the trading of commodities from oil to wheat, they said in a joint statement on Wednesday. The platform will be run by a venture called komgo SA, based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is due to go live later this year. Banks and major trading firms have been testing numerous pilot schemes across commodities over the last few years but this...

LONDON (Reuters) - Global banks and trading firms are launching the first blockchain-based platform for financing the trading of commodities from oil to wheat, they said in a joint statement on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: Drilling rigs are parked up in the Cromarty Firth near Invergordon, Scotland, Britain January 27, 2015. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/File Photo The platform will be run by a venture called komgo SA, based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is due to go live later this year. Banks and major...

LONDON (Reuters) - Commodity firms and banks have been diving into blockchain pilot schemes over the last two years but the new technology’s application for most trading has likely been over-hyped, a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said. Blockchain, originally the platform behind cryptocurrency Bitcoin, is viewed by some as a solution to inefficiencies, improving transparency and reducing to the risk of fraud. But BCG believes its potential has been exaggerated. A high-tech ledger,...