The Request Network Foundation, which oversees the top 100 cryptocurrency – Request Network (REQ) – has dropped a major announcement in the early hours of Monday (PDT), unveiling a partnership with PwC France and Francophone Africa Blockchain Lab which will see them work closely together “to envision and shape the future of professional services.”
Tweeting at 2am on Monday, Request Network shared that they were “proud to announce our official partnership with @PwC_France, shaping and developing the future of professional services together!”
Aside from gaining invaluable insight from PwC, today’s announcement will almost certainly prompt other future commercial partnerships, thanks to the Big Four member’s far-reaching network of contacts. Such a benefit has been realised by the VeChain Foundation ever since they joined PwC’s incubation program in May last year.
In commenting of the significance of Monday’s partnership, co-founder of the Request Network Foundation, Christopher Lassuyt, stated:
We are glad to form a partnership with the PwC France Blockchain Lab, creating a bridge between the corporate and blockchain industries. This partnership facilitates industries to innovate and adopt financial solutions using blockchain technology.”
The Request Network is a decentralized network that allows anyone to request a payment for which the recipient can pay in a secure way. Basically, they are disintermediating payment requests; an area that has forever seen consumers slugged with unavoidable fees and commissions (e.g. PayPal, Stripe).
PwC, as one of the Big Four professional services networks, have been experimenting with blockchain technology for several years now. A lot of their research has revolved around the feasibility of real-time, ‘smart financial audits’; something Request Network has devoted a separate Yellow Paper to.
This algorithmic-based auditing approach would redefine what it means to provide assurance, as the blockchain would be able to review and confirm the validity of transactions in real-time, which is in every way superior to the current industrial norm that sees a professional auditor test selectively after the fact.
Of course, this is but one area that Request Network is focusing on. They are actually seeking to disrupt other areas like invoicing, tax recording, online payments, internet of things (IoT), and government transparency (e.g. budget spending, NGOs, supply chain traceability).
The market certainly appreciated the significance of Monday’s PwC France Blockchain Lab partnership announcement, with the price of the ERC20-based REQ token jumping 15 percent within just 20 minutes, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
However, REQ has since plummeted by over 20 percent (at the time of writing), as the cryptocurrency market once more descends toward a $300B market cap.
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