Hyperledger Fabric vs. R3 Corda: Enterprise Blockchain for Regulated Finance

Modular, pluggable architecture: Separate execution (chaincode), ordering, and commitment layers. This matters for consortiums requiring flexible consensus (e.g., B2B supply chain with multiple non-trusting entities) and integrating with existing identity systems via its Membership Service Provider (MSP).

Point-to-point transaction privacy: Uses a UTXO-like model where only transaction participants and a notary see data. This is critical for financial institutions (e.g., trade finance, insurance) that must comply with data privacy regulations like GDPR and avoid broadcasting sensitive commercial logic.

High-throughput, deterministic execution: Supports general-purpose smart contracts (chaincode) in Go, Java, JavaScript. Proven in production for asset tokenization and settlement, achieving 1000+ TPS in benchmarks. Its channel architecture isolates traffic for different business workflows.

Legal and operational integration: Built-in support for legal prose and oracles via the Corda Network. Its flow framework automates multi-step business processes, making it ideal for complex agreements like syndicated loans or derivatives that require deterministic, auditable workflows off-ledger.

Complexity in deployment and governance: Setting up and maintaining an ordering service (Kafka, Raft) and managing channel policies adds operational overhead. Better suited for established tech teams who can manage the infrastructure, rather than lightweight POCs.

Limited ecosystem for public chain interoperability: Designed as a closed membership network. While Corda Settler allows crypto payment, integrating with public DeFi protocols (e.g., Ethereum, Solana) is more complex than with Fabric's more generic chaincode model.

Pluggable consensus & data models: Supports Kafka, Raft, and BFT ordering services. Decouples execution from ordering, enabling high throughput (> 3,000 TPS in benchmarks). This matters for consortium networks where participants have varying trust levels and performance needs.

Chaincode in Go/Java: Requires deeper system-level programming vs. business logic focus. No native token standard, requiring custom implementation. This adds development overhead for simple asset transfers compared to UTXO or account-based models.

Point-to-point transaction flows: Data is shared only with transaction participants via Notaries, not the entire network. Uses UTXO-like states for precise audit trails. This is critical for OTC derivatives, syndicated loans, and other bilateral agreements requiring strict confidentiality.

Notary bottlenecks: Transaction finality depends on a notary pool, which can become a choke point for high-volume, cross-party workflows. Less suited for high-frequency payment rails or networks with 1000+ nodes requiring sub-second global consensus.

Mature DevOps suite: Cactus, Weaver for interoperability; Caliper for benchmarking; extensive Kubernetes operators. Backed by IBM, Oracle, and AWS. Choose Fabric for hybrid cloud deployments requiring proven enterprise integration patterns.

Corda Law Library & Smart Legal Contracts: Native support for legally binding prose attached to code. Designed for digital assets under EU DLT Pilot Regime and similar frameworks where on-chain data must map directly to legal obligations.

Point-to-point transaction model: Data is shared only between transacting parties, not broadcast to all nodes. This is critical for financial contracts (ISDA, syndicated loans) where confidentiality is non-negotiable. Unlike Fabric's channel complexity, Corda's privacy is native.

Built for legal finality: Transactions are cryptographically linked to real-world legal prose via the Corda Law Library. This provides a clear audit trail for regulators and is the foundation for projects like Marco Polo (trade finance) and HQLAx (securities lending).

Smaller developer community: Compared to Fabric's ~14K GitHub stars and broad Hyperledger ecosystem (Caliper, Explorer), Corda's tooling is more niche. Integration with mainstream DevOps and monitoring stacks (Grafana, Prometheus) requires more custom work.

Notary-based finality: Relies on a trusted notary pool for uniqueness consensus, which can become a bottleneck. Peak TPS is typically lower than Fabric's ~3,500 TPS with Kafka ordering. Best for lower-volume, high-value settlements rather than high-frequency trading.

You need modular, pluggable consensus (Raft, BFT) and high transaction throughput for asset tracking or supply chain. Its channel architecture suits consortia with complex, multi-party workflows where full privacy isn't required for all participants. Ideal for TradeLens or IBM Food Trust-style networks.

Your primary requirement is data privacy and regulatory compliance in financial services. If you are building a digital asset registry, insurance claims network, or OTC derivatives platform where each deal is bilateral and legally binding, Corda's architecture is purpose-built.