It seems like you can’t take one step these days without bumping into someone talking about cryptocurrencies. But for all this talk, the average investor probably doesn’t understand the underlying tech behind it — which is the real value add — the blockchain.

Developed in 2009 as the technology behind cryptocurrency, blockchain is a vast, globally distributed ledger capable of recording anything of value. Assets can be moved and stored privately, securely and from peer to peer. For the first time in human history, two or more parties can forge agreements and make transactions without relying on intermediaries to verify their identities or perform the critical business tasks that are foundational to all forms of commerce.

So let’s ask ourselves, How will blockchain affect the finance industry? There are a lot of unknowns, both potentially negative and positive. Let’s start with the potential positives:

Fees

It’s estimated that consumers could save up to $16 billion in banking and insurance fees each year through blockchain-based applications. By reducing transaction costs and essentially cutting out the middleman, blockchain offers an efficiency that cuts through costly financial ‘red tape’. And with shorter clearance or settlement times, reduced back office and compliance costs, companies could also see similar savings as well as risk reduction.

Streamlined Processes

A large majority of financial securities exist today purely electronically and are managed centrally through trusted third parties, incurring considerable operating costs. Blockchain supports the validation and execution of transactions in near real time. This means it can be used to:

Data Integrity of the Audit Trail