Blockstream, a blockchain development firm that specializes in developing distributed ledger systems with particular use cases, announced yesterday that Christopher Allen has joined the company’s ranks.

In today’s post by Adam Back, President of Blockstream, Allen said that he is enthusiastic to join Blockstream and partake in their effort to establish “open protocol standards”, and to bringing blockchain technology into mainstream society.

Christopher Allen worked with Netscape in the early days of the Internet, and helped them develop the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) standard, which forms the bedrock of all modern secure communications networks.

Allen, who also developed the Transport Layer Security (TLS) cryptographic protocols and standards that are used in e-commerce today, will focus his efforts on several initiatives at Blockstream, as well as the company’s collaboration with the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger project, “If you’ve ever made a secure purchase through your web browser, it’s because of his pioneering work.” writes Adam Back.

Allen has also created a number of courses for Blockchain University, which offers weekend classes on distributed ledger technologies.

His experience is developing some of the key protocols of the modern Internet will give Blockstream a competitive advantage in their effort to establish the Bitcoin blockchain as a global standard.

“In all of these efforts, our objective is to share our deep operational and technical experience and working code, as well as establish Bitcoin as the most mature, robust and proven platform for both R&D and commercial applications.”

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