On of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) top executives – Seamus Cushley – informed on Tuesday that approximately $1.4 billion has been invested in blockchain startups so far in 2016.
Cushley is a director of fintech and digital at EMEA. He is about to discuss blockchain’s evolution on November 8 at PwC’s Business Forum in Dublin. According to a discussion with SiliconRepublic Cushley sees the distributed ledger technology growing. Cushley will also discuss blockchain’s risks and benefits at the Business Forum event.
Cushley also explained that banks shall use blockchain in the future, while now we are in the phase of “fringe experimentation” with blockchain tech. Legacy institutions will shift from fear to respecting the experiment and some incumbents are in “the latter phase of that journey.”
There has been $1.4bn in blockchain investments in the last nine months which will give you a sense of the investment by mainstay brands.
“The challenge now is when, and not if, these technologies will start to take effect,” said the PwC executive. “But when blockchain comes to pass, the average man or woman on the street won’t know they are even using it.”
According to Cushley’s statements to SiliconRepublic, PwC has been working on ten proof of concepts. The London-headquartered multinational financial management network is also focused on blockchain solutions. Cushley explained the Bank of England tested one such prototype for digital asset assurance.
PwC also has its own investments in the blockchain space, plus a strategic partnership with Blockstream. Back in January Haskell S. Garfinkel, PWC’s fintech co-leader, said “For our clients, understanding new world applications of Bitcoin and blockchain technology, adapting it to myriad uses, and using it optimally are critical to improving financial security, efficiency, and compliance.”
The past nine months has seen a stream of funds targeting blockchain innovation. PwC is following this phenomenon as well as participating in its promotion. With $1.4 billion being funneled into digital currency and blockchain applications worldwide, the future looks promising.
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