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Oracle Launching Blockchain Products This Month

Redwood City, California-based cloud computing giant Oracle Corp. is rolling out a blockchain software in the coming months, the latest tech company to double down on the distributed ledger technology which powers cryptocurrency transactions such as bitcoin.

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On Monday, Oracle’s president of product development, Thomas Kurian, announced a new platform-as-a-service blockchain product set to launch in May and a digital ledger-based application that will debut next month.

Blockchain enthusiasts have repeatedly pointed to the security that the technology offers, as its information is duplicated and updated regularly across thousands of computers over the internet rather than held centrally by a single entity, like cloud computing providers.

“Oracle’s products are being built in a way to ensure compatibility with other platforms,” added Kurian.

The enterprise software giant, which generated over $37.5 billion in sales revenue in 2017, is working with Banco de Chile to log inter-bank transactions on a hyperledger. Another project that the firm disclosed is a partnership with the government of Nigeria on an initiative that will seek to track customs and import duties on the blockchain. Last year, Oracle launched an enterprise –grade distributed cloud platform called the Blockchain Cloud Service.

While the digital currency space has been a polarizing topic for many who either view assets such as bitcoin as the future of payments or by others who highlight its volatility and speculative nature as nothing but a risky bet, many on both sides of the argument can agree that the underlying technology has various powerful potential use cases.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently spoke on CNBC alongside fellow billionaires and friends Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, suggesting that while he would short bitcoin if there was any easy way to do so, blockchain technology is “a good thing.” Leaders across industries such as tech, retail and finance have gotten on board with the blockchain, with firms such as Walmart, IBM MasterCard and Amazon dabbling in what many see as the next big thing in tech after AI and machine learning.