NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Fintech Storm India Summit 12-13 May will be hosting the first international blockchain symposium in Indiathis Thursday in Mumbai at The St Regis. A dedicated half-day workshop is being hosted for the benefit of banks, FIs, RBI, policy-making bodies, payments and fintech startups and blockchain enthusiasts in India – with confirmed participation of RBI, NPCI, and PayPal. This is a part of the 2-day summit exploring dedicated tracks such as the evolving payments landscape, digital banking and technology-driven trends such as robo advisory, online lending and crowdfunding industry, disintermediation of financial services, convergence of banking, e-commerce, telecommunications etc.

Blockchain technology – an introduction

It took more than 20 years for the Internet, which was invented in 1974 with the TCP/TP Internet network byVince Cerf, to become a mainstream reality. The blockchain might be looked at as a similar revolution or disruptive force in the history of mankind, although it will probably take less time for this technology to enter the mainstream arena.

The financial industry as a whole is a first mover in blockchain, investing nearly $1 billion in blockchain companies (Magister Advisors); The technology could cut $20 billion in annual costs in global banking (Santander InnoVentures). In 2015, Quartz reported that bank spending on blockchain technology increased by 150% from the previous year to $75 Mn in 2015, and forecasts an increase to $400 Mn p.a. in 2019.