The head of one of Europe’s biggest FinTech hubs is stepping down to lead the development of a blockchain lab.
Eric van der Kleij, who led London-based Level39 for three years, is returning to Entiq, an innovation consultancy he co-founded in 2013, to explore the real-world applications of blockchain technology.
The lab, van der Kleij said, will seek to help organisations gain a better understanding of distributed ledgers, smart contracts and related technologies.
He told CoinDesk:
“The Entiq Lab has undertaken testing of fundamental financial services functions such as territoriality, finality, delivery versus payment and is developing proof of concepts. We are exploring the capabilities of distributed ledger technology and have been approached by a number of financial institutions to see if we can help them develop prototypes.”
Van der Kleij, a serial entrepreneur and former CEO of the UK Government’s Tech City Investment Organisation, is credited with playing a pivotal role in helping Level39 become one of the most prominent accelerators in the European FinTech scene.
The accelerator, located in London’s business district, made headlines earlier this year when Swiss investment bank UBS announced the opening of a blockchain research lab to explore the application of distributed ledgers in the wider financial services industry.
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