Blockchain won’t disrupt or disintermediate, says BNP Paribas

Blockchain technology will not be used to disrupt the market, according to the chief digital officer at BNP Paribas.

Speaking at an event hosted by BNP Paribas, Philippe Denis spoke of how implementing technology will enhance existing systems rather than act as a replacement.

“People are going to use blockchain not to disintermediate or to disrupt the market but more to use new distributed ledger technologies to help the market be more fluent and more efficient.”

“In the coming years, we will see this type of blockchain activity to work out where we position in the market, where we look at it and where we can apply it as a solution.”

Blockchain technology has been hailed by custodians as being the future of the industry with potential to streamline processes such as settlement, clearing and corporate actions.

Speaking to Global Custodian in February Francis Jackson, global head of client coverage for asset managers, pensions and sovereign wealth at RBC Investor & Treasury services suggested that blockchain would not act as a ‘silver bullet’ and overhaul the entire industry.

More recent blockchain publicity has included a Swift report concluding that distributed ledger technology in its current state cannot fulfil the requirements of the financial industry.

Additionally, the director of product strategy and innovation at Euroclear suggested that there would be a greater understanding of blockchain’s capabilities as it nears the end of the experimentation stages.