What is the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA)?

EEA groups several technology companies, financial institutions, start-ups and academics with the goal of promoting the use of Ethereum technology and driving new business opportunities worldwide.

Its global community includes a mix of multinational giants as well as start-ups. JPMorgan Chase is a member, as are Microsoft, Intel, Accenture, EY and BP.

Through the alliance, members have created a forum where they can share knowledge and foster the widespread adoption of Ethereum among institutional players.

EEA’s operations rely on four pillars: understanding the requirements of businesses, building standard specifications that address these requirements, evolving alongside the public Ethereum blockchain, and achieving global interoperability through certification programs.

Ethereum’s technology is still at an early stage and will have to overcome several technical and regulatory hurdles before it becomes fully functional for business transactions. However, work has begun on upgrading this blockchain and making it into a Proof-of-Stake network — something that should mean it can handle far more transactions per second than at present.

Just some of the potential use cases touted by the EEA include blockchains being used to promote food safety. This technology can be used at every stage along a supply chain, delivering greater transparency to consumers. In the event that products need to be recalled, advocates argue that this can speed up the process — and ensure that the source of a problem can be identified far faster than at present.

Blockchain also brings the opportunity to tokenize a wide range of assets, including real-world items such as property. Health records could also end up being held more securely than at present, and university degrees could be tokenized to prevent fraud.

The EEA is based in the U.S., but also has offices in China, France and Japan.