Cisco updated its status in the open source Hyperledger group from general membership to premier. The Linux Foundation-hosted Hyperledger group works on blockchain distributed-ledger technology.

Ram Jagadeesan, Cisco distinguished engineer and blockchain CTO, will join the Hyperledger governing board.

“Blockchain technology represents the next generation of the Internet … which will drive extensive industry transformation,” said Jagadeesan, in a prepared statement.

In 2015, the Linux Foundation announced its Hyperledger Project to advance blockchain technology. The project aims to develop an enterprise grade, open source distributed ledger framework. It’s the fastest growing project in the history of Linux, according to Hyperledger Executive Director Brian Behlendorf.

“Cisco is a technology leader with expertise building secure, scalable, and Internet scale critical infrastructure; We are thrilled they’re taking a leadership role within Hyperledger’s governing board,” said Behlendorf.

Cisco joins other premier members of the project, including Accenture, American Express, Change Healthcare, Daimler, Fujitsu, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, J.P. Morgan, NEC, and SAP.

Since the beginning of 2016, Hyperledger has grown to more than 145 members that span various industries, including finance, health care, the Internet of Things (IoT), and aeronautics.

Governments are also looking at blockchain. The city-state of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates wants to make itself a center of blockchain technology. It’s been working with IBM to explore the use of blockchain for importing and exporting goods, using the Hyperledger project's Hyperledger Fabric and IBM Cloud.

IBM is also working with the London Stock Exchange to test blockchain for issuing and keeping track of shares in private companies, reports Reuters. The technology is being built using the Hyperledger Fabric.

The Hyperledger project just recently issued the Hyperledger Fabric 1.0 release.