Blockchain in financial services : potential, challenges and outlook
A promising start, but still limited adoption
Blockchain technology, launched in 2008 with the emergence of Bitcoin, has not yet demonstrated sufficiently transformative value to become a top priority for large organisations. While many initiatives have been launched over the past few years, very few, if any, use cases appear to have scaled with significant added value. Nevertheless, if one sector is likely to accelerate adoption, it is financial services.
Financial services : primary beneficiaries of blockchain
When considering the core functionalities of blockchain technology, namely payment mechanisms, tokenisation of digital assets and value exchange infrastructure, it becomes clear that the financial services sector stands to gain significant value.
In this regard, even within the limited scope of France, concrete examples such as Forge (a subsidiary of Société Générale) and CACEIS (a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole), which have developed solutions for crypto assets, or BNP’s investment in Kriptown (a tokenisation startup), illustrate the sector’s strong interest in this technology.
Why is blockchain particularly relevant for financial services ?
Blockchain is a network infrastructure that enables the creation and transfer of digital assets on secure platforms. Tokens, or digital units, represent one of its key innovations, as they allow real world assets such as equities, bonds or even real estate to be represented in digital form. This not only simplifies transfers, but also enhances the management and traceability of these assets, thereby creating new investment and financing opportunities for financial institutions.
The future of financial services with blockchain
Historically, financial services have always been at the forefront of blockchain related innovation, and this trend is expected to continue. However, the promised transformations have not yet materialised at the expected scale.
In the long term, it is likely that new players, particularly startups such as Circle, valued at $5.2 billion, will position themselves in this space and accelerate the adoption of this technology within financial services.
Challenges for financial services : identifying the right use cases
One of the major challenges for financial institutions is to identify the right blockchain use cases, meaning concrete and profitable applications that justify long term investment. At eleven strategy, our experts support banks and financial institutions in understanding and implementing the most promising blockchain use cases.
In summary, although blockchain has not yet delivered on all its promises, financial services remain a key sector where this technology could have the greatest impact. Supporting institutions in identifying relevant use cases and implementing blockchain solutions represents a strategic opportunity for eleven strategy, which can leverage its expertise in data, AI and blockchain to drive this digital transformation.
To learn more, contact Clément Tequi eleven strategy
