Fintech trends in 2019 Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Adoption
One of many foundational Fintech technologies that provide viable solutions to professional and personal financial transaction problems, Blockchain is expected to have a huge impact on rewiring the financial services industry in 2019. With the clear advantage of security, Blockchain technology is being adopted extensively due to its decentralized and self-sustaining nature, where it records transactions and updates via a distributed database without anyone needing access to the stored data.
The Blockchain technology basically represents a transparent digital ledger that validates, verifies and executes transactions via a decentralized, peer-to-peer network. Considering that payments typically go through a central intermediary that authenticates and authorizes transactions via several stages, Blockchain actually eliminates the need for this intermediary and additionally compresses these tedious steps in one comprehensive process that can be executed in a matter of seconds. In turn, this disruptive concept implies that it is not devoid of challenges, and Blockchain is still met with resistance from traditional financial institutions, which are defined by centralization and control of all payment transactions; many local & regional governments today are still reluctant to join the Blockchain scene, considering it a competitive technology in their industry as opposed to a complementing one.
However, PwC states that a staggering 77% of Fintech companies will adopt Blockchain by 2020, while a report by KPMG claims that 41% of tech leaders want to adopt Blockchain in business in the coming 3 years. Overall, financial experts are not giving up on its rising popularity and are adamant that Blockchain and its underlying applications will be widely accepted in 2019, with a particular emphasis on its positive contributions to Fintech products & services this year.
