A brave new world? What impact will
distributed ledger technology have
on the financial industry?
We are living in an age of rapid change. The world today is virtually unrecognisable
from the world of even
25
years ago. The internet has changed the way we
communicate, the way we shop, the way we learn, the way we listen to music, the
way we store infor
mation
–
frankly, the way we live. It has become possible to
exchange information instantaneously with almost anyone, anywhere, any time.
In response to this level and speed of change, standing still is not an option. We
have seen the impact on businesses
that adapt and those which don’t. For example,
the technical revolution hit the taxi industry when mobile app technology allowed
people with a vehicle and free time to offer taxi services. Technical disruption is also
changing the car industry as IT
visio
naries
have set out to develop cars that can self
-
park and self
-
drive using electrical engines and tablet technology.
Companies that
shy away from technological changes and do not adapt to the new digital
environment risk falling by the wayside.
The financ
ial industry is also experiencing these changes and financial companies
are looking at new technologies as they emerge and deciding whether or not to
embrace them and the new opportunities they provide.
One of the more recent technological developments tha
t holds potential for the
financial industry is distributed ledger technology, or DLT. This article looks briefly at
what exactly this new technology is and what the potential implications are for
Europe’s financial market infrastructure.