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Google and IBM among those supporting the Hedera Token Service launch

The service is touted as offering native token issuance and configurability without smart contracts.
Written by Asha Barbaschow, Contributor
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Hedera Hashgraph 'ecosystem'

Image: Supplied

Distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform Hedera Hashgraph has announced plans to launch the Hedera Token Service (HTS), which the platform expects will set "the new standard for the global token economy".

Hedera is a public ledger that uses hashgraph consensus that has been touted by the company as being a faster, more secure alternative to other blockchain consensus mechanisms.

There are over 17 companies involved in the Hedera Governing Council, the body charged with overseeing governance of the platform, including Boeing, Deutsche Telekom, Google, IBM, LG Electronics, and Tata Communications.

HTS is a Hedera network service that offers users the ability to issue and configure tokens on the Hedera platform. Hedera said HTS offers a faster and more efficient alternative to smart contract token creation, and is based on the emerging industry standard Token Taxonomy Framework from the InterWork Alliance. 

The HTS is supported with an initial participation of over 60 partners and users, including those from the governing council.

See also: Blockchain: A cheat sheet (TechRepublic)  

Global law firms, NGOs, academic institutions, and exchanges, are among some of the other users that have already signed up to issue and configure native tokens on the platform.

"Today, digital tokens are being designed for all kinds of economic activities," Hedera co-founder and CEP Mance Harmon said.

"Tokenisation of a huge range of assets will make traditional financing operations and interacting in marketplaces faster and less costly, fundamentally changing the existing processes for purchase order financing, obtaining loans for working capital, buying insurance, securing inventory financing, and invoice factoring.

"Tokenisation will provide the foundation for enterprises to use distributed ledger technology (DLT) in routine business transactions, thus driving significant acceleration in enterprise adoption."

Derek White, vice president of global financial services industry solutions at Google, also shared his thoughts on the use of tokenisation, saying it presents a significant opportunity to transform the way value is exchanged in markets.

"Google Cloud looks forward to supporting the growth of the Hedera ecosystem as a Council member and trusted partner," he added.

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