The financial sector has shown an increasing interest in blockchain technology. The technology sprang to prominence when it was used to trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which are produced and authenticated by a peer-to-peer network of users rather than a central authority.
Blockchain technology has already seen adoption by big players in traditional finance:
- According to Goldman Sachs, blockchain technology may save $2–4 billion in insurance underwriting transaction costs in the United States alone, as well as $11–12 billion in securities clearing and settlement expenses.
- According to a study by Santander, blockchain technology might save banks $15–$20 billion in infrastructure expenses related to cross-border payments and securities trading.
- The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2027, up to 10% of the value of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would be secured using blockchain technology.
Various financial organizations have created blockchain-based solutions in a variety of fields. Although they have yet to show that blockchain technology is a long-term solution to meet the demands of conventional financial corporations.
For example:
- The Australian Stock Exchange collaborated with Digital Assets to use blockchain technology for the clearing and settlement of equity transactions
- Overstock.com launched a closed-system trading platform for the sale of its proprietary blockchain
The increasing number of traditional finance organizations adopting blockchain technology demonstrates the financial industry's widely held belief that this technology might provide a wide range of advantages. Despite this, many in the business believe that the implementation of blockchain technology will be a slow, step-by-step process rather than a big bang revolution.
Indeed, market players may be hesitant to write down their present technology investments quickly. As a result, market players may prioritize areas where the greatest efficiency might be gained.
As market players continue to investigate, it is unclear if the emphasis will be on trading or post-trading. Because the majority of inefficiencies may be addressed there, blockchain technology could be deployed first to post-trading operations, both for exchange-traded securities and some derivatives.
However, there are other traditional industries where blockchain technology may prove useful, like information technology. ClearX is one organization that is doing so. The blockchain-based clearing and settlement protocol is using smart contracts, which focus on sophisticated B2B commercial transactions to develop and execute complex and secret agreements.
Consider a company that makes components for the vehicular industry. It wants minimal latency as well as robust and secure communication across its sites. The customer's planning and design are supported by a chain of several wholesale agreements involving his communications provider, other carriers, and local loop participants.
The corporation's IT managers are unconcerned about this information since they merely get a final bill reflecting the total cost. Billing and settlements, on the other hand, are a complicated and time-consuming procedure for carriers, with hundreds of contracts to pay each month and thousands of services like this to track.
These are issues that can be solved by using automated smart contracts to acquire correct data securely to construct smart B2B contracts.
Many market-driven projects are now working to promote common blockchain protocols and standards. The HyperLedger Linux Foundation and the R3 Consortium, are just a few examples of blockchain-related organizations working on blockchain-based solutions. As a result, compatibility difficulties do not seem to be a stumbling block for this technology.
Continuing on with the information technology sector, data services can also see benefits from the application of blockchain technology. Data Services are a significant income generator for ICTs, and the industry is transitioning to on-demand services.
These modifications are intended to increase the capabilities available to businesses by allowing for speedier deployment of new sites, services, and worldwide applications, as well as simpler updates and formatting of current services and improved security.
ClearX's marketplace solution uses Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to enable ICTs to execute automated data services orders in a secure manner. The company's technology automates the alignment of data service inventories and bills across partners, as well as inventory search and partner settlements, supporting expanding industry requests for optimization requirements.
The emergence of new deployment architectures such as SD-WAN, SASE, and others has also influenced shifting operational practices. ICT providers may fulfill orders in an automated marketplace setting, substantially decreasing the time and effort required today. A blockchain-based partner ecosystem enhances ICT income by enabling them to serve a wider range of business categories.
Blockchain technology can create tools to enable ICTs to execute automated data services orders securely. The company's technology automates the alignment of data service inventories and bills across partners, as well as inventory search and partner settlements, supporting expanding industry requests for optimization requirements.
In closing…
Many presently repetitive business procedures might be reduced in a blockchain-based system since there are fewer middlemen involved. It would no longer be required to input transaction data individually at each step of the custody chain, necessitating expensive reconciliation procedures.
As a result, transaction costs might be lowered. As a result of the decreased back-office expenses associated with the manual reconciliation of contradictory transaction data, blockchain technology might save the financial sector a significant amount of money.