How Blockchain is Shaping Financial Services

Sunil Sonkar
2 Min Read
How Blockchain is Shaping Financial Services

Blockchain technology arrived with a lot of excitement, like when the internet was new. Blythe Masters, who used to work at JPMorgan Chase, took charge at Digital Asset Holdings in 2015. This gave people hope that it could change how we do financial transactions by making them more transparent and secure. It was a simple but powerful idea.

However, nearly a decade down the road, blockchain’s journey has proven to be far from straightforward. Startups, including Digital Assets, have struggled to expand beyond the space of cryptocurrencies. The reality is that blockchain’s potential has remained largely untapped and the return of Masters to Wall Street highlights the unfulfilled aspirations for this technology.

The roller-coaster ride of cryptocurrency values in recent years has also cast doubt on the feasibility of blockchain in the financial sector. High-profile failures and project suspensions such as the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the Australian stock exchange’s blockchain initiative, have raised legitimate concerns about blockchain’s prospects.

However, blockchain’s basic qualities are quite promising. It brings transparency and strong security. These features can help solve many of the long-standing issues in the financial world. Each digital asset, currency or token has its own blockchain. The transparency factor aligns seamlessly with the increasing demand for open and transparent financial markets.

Yet, there are formidable challenges ahead. Regulatory approval remains a primary obstacle as regulators strive to ensure fairness and stability in the markets. Liquidity issues, particularly in markets with high trading activity, present another significant hurdle.

Hope is on the horizon with emerging solutions like Chainlink. These are connecting blockchain transactions with off-blockchain records and the Swift partnership is signaling a commitment to integrating blockchain into finance. Meanwhile, major financial players such as Citigroup and JPMorgan are exploring blockchain projects to streamline transactions and enhance cross-institutional money movement.

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