The emergence of blockchain technology as a tool to transfer data and value between parties could prove transformative for industries on a global basis, including financial services.
A recently published primer on blockchain from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international organization focused on a range of economic, social and environmental challenges, highlights the array of opportunities and challenges that blockchain’s growing popularity could have on the financial industry, among many other fields.
Not just for cryptocurrency
Blockchain uses distributed ledger technology to store information that is verified using cryptography among a group of users. So far, blockchain is most widely known for its use with digital financial asset applications (cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum).
However, the OECD and others have noted that the potential uses for blockchain are wide-ranging because it can diminish the role of intermediaries in the transfer of data and improve the security and cost of those transfers.
“Blockchain has the potential to transform the functioning of a wide range of industries,” according to the OECD. “Its features can increase the transparency and traceability of goods, data and financial assets, facilitate market access and improve the efficiency of transactions.”
Blockchain operates as a shared ledger of transactions between parties in a network. All transactions between the parties in the network are stored and recorded in the network without a central authority, and each party has access to all the same records.
Because of blockchain’s basic characteristics, the OECD sees far-reaching potential for blockchain in the global economy.
Continue reading: https://www.benefitspro.com/2022/03/01/blockchain-on-the-rise-making-sense-of-the-tech-behind-cryptocurrencies/
A recently published primer on blockchain from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international organization focused on a range of economic, social and environmental challenges, highlights the array of opportunities and challenges that blockchain’s growing popularity could have on the financial industry, among many other fields.
Not just for cryptocurrency
Blockchain uses distributed ledger technology to store information that is verified using cryptography among a group of users. So far, blockchain is most widely known for its use with digital financial asset applications (cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum).
However, the OECD and others have noted that the potential uses for blockchain are wide-ranging because it can diminish the role of intermediaries in the transfer of data and improve the security and cost of those transfers.
“Blockchain has the potential to transform the functioning of a wide range of industries,” according to the OECD. “Its features can increase the transparency and traceability of goods, data and financial assets, facilitate market access and improve the efficiency of transactions.”
Blockchain operates as a shared ledger of transactions between parties in a network. All transactions between the parties in the network are stored and recorded in the network without a central authority, and each party has access to all the same records.
Because of blockchain’s basic characteristics, the OECD sees far-reaching potential for blockchain in the global economy.
Continue reading: https://www.benefitspro.com/2022/03/01/blockchain-on-the-rise-making-sense-of-the-tech-behind-cryptocurrencies/
