Revolutionary changes to complex systems often have
humble beginnings. Double-entry-bookkeeping, for instance, grew
from a minor section of a Franciscan monk's mathematics
encyclopedia in 15th-century Venice to the foundation of modern
accounting. Now, blockchain, a system which allows connected
computers to maintain a single updated ledger, seems poised to
restructure stock exchanges, the core infrastructure of capital
markets.
Blockchain, "might seem like a trinket for computer
geeks," observed IBM CEO, Ginni Rometty. "But once widely
adopted, it will transform the world." A bold prediction, but
there are many who would agree; according to a 2017 report by Bain
& Company, "Blockchain in Financial
Markets", 80% of surveyed financial market
participants say distributed ledger technology will be
transformative and expect their firms to begin using it by
2020.
