Blockchain is one of the disruptive technologies that was predicted to be a game-changer in different industries and sectors, transforming the existing business models, affecting the process of decision making, and influencing firms’ competitiveness. Researchers named the banking industry to be a pioneer in application of the technology; one reason suggested was that blockchain could enable faster cross-border payments and real-time settlements, support loan syndication, streamline identity verification and ensure compliance. In this project we aim to investigate whether everything that was predicted has come true or if it was just hype.
To find answers to this, we interviewed over 20 bank representatives from developed and developing countries. We find that blockchain is an outsourced technology in banking industry that has mainly been tested by bank consortiums that now are struggling to attract ongoing funding. Based on the interviews we find that the initial euphoria about blockchain has diminished and some bank representatives mention that the more they experiment with this technology, the less they plan to use it in the future. Disregarding a high theoretical potential, practitioners claim that this technology is redundant as it does not provide solution to the existing cases. We do not observe significant differences in application of blockchain technology in the banking industry in different countries.
As one of the directions of the research project, we investigate how blockchain fits into such disruptive technologies, as AI, cloud computing, quantum computing, etc. We are interested whether blockchain will find its place within this group of technologies or it will be forgotten.
While conducting the project we also actively collaborated with the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub (Australia). By leveraging the Hub’s multidisciplinary expertise in economics, sociology, public policy, and political economy, we aim to provide innovative insights into the convergence of blockchain and AI, particularly in the context of digital economy.
We share the results of our findings at leading accounting and finance conferences.
Team
Tatiana King, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Head of the Auditing and Control in Accounting Research Group, School of Accounting and Finance, University of Vaasa, Principal Investigator.
Timothy King, Ph.D. Professor, School of Accounting and Finance, University of Vaasa.
Mikko Ranta, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Accounting and Finance, University of Vaasa.
The Research Team closely cooperated with the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub (Australia).
The team acknowledges assistance of PhD students, Maria Zhukova and Buddhi Weerasekara, in collecting data for the project.