Central banks are pro-Blockchain, it turns out.
According to a recent study by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, central banks around the world are strongly in favor of Blockchain technology. This, in spite of the recent report by the ECB that Blockchain technology is too immature for widespread use.
According to the study, central banks surveyed indicated that 20 percent of central banks will be using Blockchain technology by 2019, and 40 percent will have active Blockchain applications within a decade.
Priorities
Among the respondents, however, many declined to give time frames but indicated that Blockchain technology was high on their priority list. The findings indicate what many market researchers had already been noting, namely, that the banking industry is starting to grasp the power of Blockchain technology.
The central banks who responded indicated that they are most interested in using Blockchain technology for permissions platforms or protocols, but also indicated strong interest in both Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Ironically, a large percentage also indicated that they are considering using Blockchain technology to create their own central bank-issued digital currency.
In fact, more than 80 percent of the banks surveyed indicated that this was the main reason they were conducting research. The findings represent a new shift in adoption away from government free cryptos to attempts at centralized digital currencies.
Governments embracing crypto?
The use of Blockchain in the government sector has certainly been increasing. From railway lines to mining farms in Russia, Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are on government’s’ radar.
Other applications appear to be coming on line as well, including Blockchain-based data security after the Equifax hack, and Blockchain based voting systems like Horizon State, which has created a platform for fraud-free voting through Blockchain for state use. Founder Jamie Skella said:
“For the first time in history, thanks for the post-unforgeable characterises of distributed ledger transactions, we have a ballot box that cannot be hacked. When the result of a vote cannot be tampered with, unprecedented trust amongst communities – and indeed companies – is delivered for constituents.”
With central banks around the world embracing Blockchain technology, and governments seeking solutions for data tampering and fraud-less voting, Blockchain technology will continue to gain market share.
