Yesterday, I spent the majority of my day at the Economist Conference’s “Finance Disrupted” in New York City. As an early hook to their first panel discussion entitled ‘Building the blockchain: The promise and perils’, we learned that venture capitalists invested nearly $500 million in blockchain business last year — up from $2 million just three years ago. While I’ve shared my perspectives on the potential applications for blockchain in previous posts (Blockchain 101 – a Primer for a Bank’s CEO and Board), panels like these underscore the immense potential of this technology.
“Blockchain technology continues to redefine not only how the exchange sector operates, but the global financial economy as a whole.”
– Bob Greifeld, Chief Executive of NASDAQ
Like many, I see potential for blockchain technology to revolutionize many areas of the financial industry — think securities trading, payments, fraud prevention and regulatory compliance. Moreover, a new report from Deloitte explores how blockchain could be used in loyalty rewards programs. Still, as our industry transforms, there is real uncertainty around what the future of the banking industry will look like.
This is why I take note of comments like those from BNY Mellon’s CEO, Gerald Hassell. On his Q1 earnings call, he opined “we think blockchain can be transformative. We’re spending a lot of time and energy on it, but I think it’s going to take some time to see it play out in a full, meaningful way. We actually see ourselves as one of the major participants in using the technology to improve the efficiency of our operations and the resiliency of our operations.”
While additional big-time players — such as Goldman Sachs, Visa and NASDAQ — garner headlines for their investments in crypto-currencies & blockchain technology, I spent last night and this morning looking at eight blockchain companies that might help you to form your own opinions on the potential of this technology:
For more about these companies — and their funding sources — I encourage you to check out this piece on Lets Talk Payments. Not familiar with LTP? It is a fast-growing global destination for news, insights & data-driven research in emerging financial services. Much like the information shared by both FinXTech and Bank Director, LTP’s content is fiercely independent, thought provoking and always up-to-date, in a way that continues to inform, engage and inspire.
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