The Linux Foundation has announced a new collaborative effort to improve blockchain technology, the verification system behind Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Several major banks and high-tech firms have signed on for the effort, including IBM, Intel, Cisco, Fujitsu, J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo, London Stock Exchange Group, and others.

According to the announcement, “Blockchain is a digital technology for recording and verifying transactions. The distributed ledger is a permanent, secure tool that makes it easier to create cost-efficient business networks without requiring a centralized point of control. With distributed ledgers, virtually anything of value can be tracked and traded.”

Bitcoin is regarded as an important innovation, but it has also been at the center of several high-profile attacks and financial irregularities. Many experts believe the technology needs some refinement before it is applied generically to the whole spectrum of financial activity.

Linux Foundation executive director Jim Zemlin adds, “Distributed ledgers are poised to transform a wide range of industries from banking and shipping to the Internet of Things. As with any early-stage, highly complex technology that demonstrates the ability to change the way we live our lives and conduct business, blockchain demands a cross-industry, open source collaboration to advance the technology for all.”