Blockchain technology is of high interest on Wall Street

According to research from Greenwich Associates, even though the blockchain has initially been associated with Bitcoin, the technology is currently increasingly of interest for the financial services world. For instance, BNP Paribas research analyst Johann Palychata recently claimed that the distributed ledger could cause total disruption to the post-trade infrastructure, while Nasdaq OMX, Citi and UBS are all openly exploring its potential.

Results of the survey show that 94% of respondents think that distributed ledger technology could be applied in institutional markets, with almost half actively reviewing it within their companies.

Findings also reveal that while the motivations for adoption are varied, settlement, counterparty and custodial risk reduction are all key drivers. From a product perspective, OTC derivatives, private stock, repo and loan markets are viewed as the most likely asset categories to benefit from distributed ledger technology in the medium term.