Banks on board with blockchain, in theory 03 October 2016Geneva Reporter: Stephanie Palmer
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More than three quarters of banks are experimenting with blockchain, but adoption is far from imminent, according to a survey from SIX Securities Services.
The SIX research found 76 percent of responding banks said they are experimenting with blockchain to a certain degree.
Most of these, 32 percent of respondents, said they have developed a proof-of-concept solution, with 18 percent said they are in the pilot stage of a specific blockchain-enabled service.
A further 14 percent said they have set up a blockchain-focused innovation lab, and 12 percent have partnered with a blockchain company.
Unsurprisingly, settlement and clearing emerged as the two areas most likely to be affected by blockchain technology, identified by 38 percent and 34 percent of respondents, respectively.
A fifth went so far as to suggest that blockchain will make the clearing process completely redundant.
Regulation was perceived as the primary barrier to adoption, with 72 percent naming it as one of the top three factors preventing widespread use of blockchain.
When asked when they believe blockchain technology will be widely implemented, respondents were relatively pragmatic, with the average expected timeframe emerging as six years.
Thomas Zeeb, CEO of SIX Securities Services, said: “A lot of the conversations we are seeing around blockchain are on the technical level, looking at what is feasible with blockchain rather than what is desirable from a business standpoint.”
“Blockchain has the potential to make a number of business models and intermediaries obsolete, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It is, however, important to question the changes that this would bring to the ecosystem. Until the industry has clear indications on sustainable use cases—including costs and benefits—it will be difficult to convince top managers to bring their trusted systems into these new domains.”
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