Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology (DLT), has become a major focus of financial institutions, corporations in general and the government. Institutions are joining consortia to develop standards and products,and they are already testing and deploying specific products based on DLT. They seem to be excited about the capability that made cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, possible. But their interests have little to do with the actual currencies and much to do with enabling better ways to complete transactions. The main motivators for moving ahead rapidly are efficiency, by which is meant a large money savings on transactions, and security, by whichis meant easy and secure payment transfers.Regulators are meeting to discuss how to oversee this new capability, and competitors are starting to take to the field. Blockchain could soon move from a marginal capability backing cryptocurrencies to a mainstream capability backing consumer and commercial transactions.