Blockchain Disruption
Blockchain Disruption. SIBOS, an annual conference presented by SWIFT for the financial services industry, was this week and of course blockchain was on everyone’s lips. In the opening session, Thomas Jordan, the president and chairman of the board of Switzerland’s central bank, described the financial services industry as being “turned on its head” by blockchain and said that “Decentralization, not centralization, now appears to promise the greatest efficiency gains.”
If it seems like we talk about blockchain A LOT, that is why. Dozens of central banks and other financial regulators use XBRL, and most of them are actively examining blockchain-driven smart ledgers and other innovations. And while this is mostly focused right now on payments and settlements (which are low hanging fruit for efficiency gains) it will soon expand to areas covered by XBRL reporting. In this new paradigm, a standard that is powerful in its flexibility, increases efficiency and facilitates the collection and sharing of data that is higher in quality and easier is necessary.
Blockchain (along with other FinTech innovations) will be a major focus of the program at Data Amplified. One talk will be presented by Anne Leslie-Bini, Director, RegTech Solutions team for Financial Services, BearingPoint France. She will examine what needs to happen before the full benefits of blockchain technology are realised, with a spacial focus on the necessary breakthroughs in thinking at the very top of organisations that must happen before digital technology leads to improved decision-making. See the entire schedule here.
