INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE FINANCE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Jun
2014
LHV Pank
Oct
2013
Fidor Bank
Dec
2014
Rabobank
ING
ABN Amro
Sep
2014
CBW Bank
Cross River Bank
Mar
2015
Barclays
US Federal
Reserve
Jan
2015
BBVA Compass
May
2015
Commerz Bank
DBS
Euro Banking
Association
Apr
2015
UBS
Jul
2015
Deutsche Bank
Citi
Standard Chartered
BNP Paribas
Societe Generale
Jun
2015
Santandar
ANZ
Westpac
Oct
2015
Nasdaq
VISA
Sep
2015
Bank of America
Nov
2015
RBC
25+ FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ADOPTED BLOCKCHAIN IN 2014 AND 2015
Increased focus on cost reduction and ope-
rational efficiency is no longer just a notion
associated with large manufacturing corpo-
rations. The rise of private peer-to-peer tech-
nology lenders continues to put pressure on
the profitability of the conventional banking
system. One possible solution is technologi-
cal advancement that would allow banks to
reduce costs and improve upon transactional
efficiency in order to remain competitive.
Banks around the globe are increasingly
evaluating the potential of Blockchain as an
alternative to many transactional systems
currently in place, and many have joined
up with Fintech businesses to redefine their
banking services. More recently, it was touted
by the Financial Times that Singapore’s
banks have become a hotbed for Fintech, as
Standard Chartered and DBS bank embar-
ked on a government-backed partnership to
use Blockchain – the technology behind the
cryptocurrency Bitcoin – for trade finance
transactions.
Since 2013, many banks and financial ins-
titutions across the globe have embarked
upon the journey of adopting Blockchain
to transform or enhance their current pro-
duct offering. However, the potential of
Blockchain extends far beyond redefining
the banking system, and many tech star-
tups have already begun to capitalize on
some of the benefits that this technology
has to offer. Companies like BitShares,
DXMarkets and Secure Assets are using
the technology for digital security trading,
while Blockai, Artplus, and Bitproof are
using it to store proof of ownership for
digital content. Similarly, Storj is using
Blockchain to offer decentralized storage
solutions using a network of computers,
while ePlug is using it to provide decen-
tralized internet and computing resources
to every home and business.
Given the rise in popularity of this tech-
nology, Microsoft has recently announced
its Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) offering
for enterprises to develop, test and de-
ploy Blockchain applications. Today, 20
different types of uses of Blockchain have
been cited by Let’s Talk Payments, a com-
pany that specializes in research on the
global Fintech sector. How this technolo-
gy will evolve further, is a mystery yet to
be solved.
The Use of Blockchain in Banking and Beyond
Blockchain adoption timeline 2013-15
GAINING IN POPULARITY
Digitization of Documents
& Contracts
Digital Security Trading
Digital Identity for Consumer
Privacy Protection
Digitize Assets
to Reduce Counterfeit
Marketplace for Sale
and Purchase of Assets
Permanent Record of Proof
of Ownership
Decentralized Storage
Uses of Blockchain
Source: "Let’s Talk Payments"
Source: "Let’s Talk Payments"