The Power of Digital Currency

Financial services firms across the world are currently experimenting with potential uses of the blockchain for their businesses.

Global bank spending on blockchain investment was estimated at $75 million in 2015 and is forecast to grow annually by 68 percent and hit $400 million per year by 2019.

Firms experimenting with the technology include leading global exchange services providers such as the NASDAQ, the Australian Securities Exchange, global investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, as well as commercial banks like Barclays and Wells Fargo. Even central banks like the Bank of England have championed research into how blockchain technology can be incorporated into financial services for the benefit of consumers.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC ) region is also exploring blockchain innovation. For instance, the Global Blockchain Council, established by the Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation, is designed to encourage startup incubation and explore the technology’s impact on business and finance as well as its role in facilitating transactions across sectors.

So what exactly is blockchain, and why all the excitement? Read on to learn more about the potential applications of blockchain to the financial services sector in the GCC region as well how the region can best organize and coordinate efforts for future research and development.