Could Bitcoin Be the Future of Blockchain Post Trade?

Conventional thinking about blockchain technology’s use in stock markets may be wrong, according to one academic.
The argument was put forward by Professor David Yermack, chairman of the finance department at New York University, this week at Imperial College London‘s first FinTech-focused academic conference.
There, Yermack presented an unpublished report that argues blockchains will evolve differently in capital markets than widely expected. For example, according to Yermack, functions such as stock settlements will one day be carried out on public blockchains like bitcoin, as opposed to private or premissioned alternatives.
Overall, Yermack, who teaches a cryptocurrency course at NYU’s Stern School of Business, offered a much broader vision for the use of blockchain in finance than what the industry is considering, as well as more critical takes on how incumbents are exploring the tech.
Taking a dig at DTCC, for instance, Yermack said its report “Embracing Disruption” did little to show or illustrate how blockchain could change the current state of affairs.

This post was published at Coin Desk on October 13, 2016.