Microsoft exploring adding Ripple technology to blockchain toolkit

Microsoft has released an update to its blockchain toolkit service, with media outlets revealing that they are exploring how to add Ripple’s Interledger protocol to the toolkit to further enhance its service offering.

Microsoft Corp. released an update to its Azure cloud computing platform in October, with its BaaS service now allowing developers to deploy private and semi-public blockchain networks on top of Ethereum and other decentralized application platforms.

Marley Gray, Microsoft's director of national financial services technology strategy, detailed the project and its progress in a new blog post, and mentioned that users have given strong response and positive comments to the service.

Gray further pointed out that Microsoft has already partnered with Ripple, and that Azure’s Baas service is running a node on the Ripple consensus network. Notably, Gray also suggested that Ripple’s Interledger protocol will soon be added to the toolkit they are developing in order to be able to connect distributed ledgers and traditional bank ledgers.

Gray wrote:

“We are exploring how to apply Ripple’s Interledger protocol to Azure and the developer community to enable Microsoft’s blockchain services to form novel use cases and make them available to users . ”

A Ripple spokesperson said in a statement in October that their partnership with Microsoft was key to the success of the protocol, noting that the company would add credibility and reliability to the service.

Gray finally mentioned that they will continue to add several protocol packages to the previously developed Ethereum toolkit and will consider other blockchain technologies for the development of their blockchain project.