eResearch | On February 5, 2020, the Empire Club of Canada hosted a panel discussion titled: The Financial Services Revolution and How Blockchain is Transforming Money, Markets and Banking. The panel comprised of:
- Guest Panelists::
- Cole Diamond – CEO, Coinsquare
- Fatema Pirone – Senior Director – Enterprise Innovation, CIBC
- Richard Carlton – CEO, Canadian Securities Exchange
- Moderator:
- Alex Tapscott – Co-founder of The Blockchain Research Institute & Co-author of Blockchain Revolution
Discussions revolved around tokenization, global payments, and Facebook’s recent foray into the world of cryptocurrencies.
Blockchain Capital Markets
Although Blockchain has dropped from the front pages of the news, it has now found a home in the back office of Financial Services firms that are using the distributed ledger technology to replace some of the antiquated systems used in transactions.
“The blockchain industry is currently in the not-so-sexy plumbing phase of growth where capital and time is needed for the proper organizations to come together to formulate regulations and infrastructure for the technology” said Alex Tapscott.
In January, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs conducted what is thought to be the first equity swap on a blockchain-based platform Ethereum-Inspired Platform.
Currently, most blockchain activity happens behind doors in the private sector or internally within organizations where only 20-30% of funding for blockchain is public.
Coinsquare CEO Cole said “Once the foundation is built between blockchain and regulations, it will open up the doors for everyone to invest into the technology”.
Expectations for Blockchain in Next Decade
At CIBC Enterprise Innovation, Senior Director Fatema said “Within the next decade, the only function I see banks efficiently using blockchain for is within cross-border payments and transfers”.
Coinsquare is focused on being the face of digital asset trading and has created a platform where users can seamlessly check accounts and run transactions for digital assets, while it uses an efficient KYC process to identify suitable users.
On the other hand, Richard Carlton, CEO of the CSE, said “We are focusing on working with regulators to develop the back-end for digital assets and not approaching the blockchain industry from a front end perspective (user interface, KYS, end-user).
Coinsquare ATMs in China
With a focus on Asia where activity for digital assets is highest, Coinsquare is working on integrating digital currency into society through adapting its accessibility through common, day-to-day financial infrastructure.
In China, Coinsquare is currently retrofitting existing ATMs to be able to purchase cryptocurrencies with cash. In Hong Kong, users can deposit the Chinese Yen, convert it to bitcoin, and then covert to the Hong Kong dollar. Coinsquare has already implemented this change across 2,000 ATMS and is working to add 2,000 more this year.
Conclusion
Richard Carlton, CEO of the CSE, does not believe the Securities markets can keep up with blockchain technology in the next decade but there will have to be regulatory intermediaries so that governments still have oversight to protect consumers and businesses.
