What Blockchain Technology Can Do and What Could Be Overstretched Expectations

I just got back from a conference in NYC about this and the interesting thing is that the stogier and more established a vendor is, the more interested it is in the blockchain.

For instance, the DTCC, which handles settlements for stocks in the US, is working on a system for settlements for gold in London and they seem to have a handle on it. They are thinking about how to get T+0 settlement (near instantaneous) working alongside the existing T+2 system (2 days) for stocks but that is a harder problem because of mergers, splits, dividends, reorganizations and other corporate actions.

The TLDR of it is that nobody is happy with the status quo, neither regulators, customers, or the banks that have to hold huge amounts of reserve capital against risks. Faster settlements and payments can make risk disappear rather than hide it, hedge it, manage it, or hold capital against it.

Incumbents don't want to blindsided and they also have resources to throw at the problem... Look at how vanguard is jumping into robo-advising with both feet.