R3, the development team behind the private Corda blockchain, is jumping into the public “internet capital markets” game by collaborating with Solana.
The move marks “a new strategic direction for R3,” which will now enable its $10 billion-plus worth of real-world onchain assets issued by asset managers, banks, and other financial services providers to trade and settle on a public blockchain.
“The collaboration will create a consensus service deployed on Solana to enable native interoperability between R3’s existing Corda platform – as well as other private networks – and Solana, bridging the gap between permissioned and public blockchain ecosystems for the first time,” R3 wrote in a statement.
R3 is an enterprise blockchain software company that develops the open-source, permissioned Corda distributed ledger platform. Its clients include DTCC, Mastercard, Nasdaq, HSBC, and J.P. Morgan.
“Solana and R3 will bring regulated assets onto a public blockchain at a time when the RWA sector is at a pivotal juncture: regulatory tailwinds are spurring investor confidence in digital assets, financial institutions are becoming increasingly comfortable with leveraging public networks, and the DeFi sector is maturing,” R3 wrote.
As part of the move, Solana Foundation Board President Lily Liu will join R3’s board. R3 tapped Solana, rather than the current RWA market leader, Ethereum, following an “extensive evaluation and technical review.”
“This is more than a milestone; it’s a strategic realignment for the entire industry. We know DeFi isn’t coming to TradFi, so it’s up to us to build the connective infrastructure that links these two ecosystems,” R3 CEO David E. Rutter said in a statement. “This is about adapting to deliver real-world utility, institutional-grade readiness, and shaping the long-term future of regulated markets.”
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