As far as legally-binding agreements in purely digital form go, these types of "smart contracts" existed before blockchains, and have been running for close to ten years at the Trade Information Warehouse, noted Greg Schvey, CEO, Axoni. Schvey said: "What we are doing with the blockchain implementation is oriented around the distribution and synchronisation of trade data for the end users. "Fundamentally it's about being able to set up an agreement that relies on the existing legal framework to make a legally binding digital record. We are updating the format of that digital record to enable automated synchronization for market participants.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ibm-r3-axoni-discuss-dtcc-blockchain-project-1621174