Despite the fact that the finance providing industry is enthusiastic about blockchain and cryptocurrency, respondents identified cybersecurity as the most significant barrier to widespread implementation.
According to global finance executives polled by Big Four auditing company Deloitte, blockchain, the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), has already attained public adoption.
According to Deloitte’s Global Blockchain Survey for 2021, 81 percent of financial services executives believe blockchain technology is “broadly scalable” and has reached mainstream usage.
The report surveyed 1,280 FSI experts in Brazil, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and was released last Friday.
The study included both typical FSI cohort respondents who had “at least a basic understanding” of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, as well as “FSI Pioneers,” or those who have previously implemented blockchain technology in their business or production.
73 percent of poll respondents expressed concern that if their company does not use blockchain or digital assets, they will lose a competitive advantage. As high as 97 percent of respondents in the FSI Pioneers category said that blockchain technologies are critical for their firm to stay competitive.
Despite the FSI’s upbeat view on blockchain and digital assets, 71 percent of survey respondents said cybersecurity is the biggest impediment to wider implementation of digital assets. Regulatory constraints are the primary barrier to crypto adoption, according to 73 percent of FSI Pioneers.
The current legacy banking infrastructure was cited by 65 percent of respondents as the greatest hurdle to mainstream blockchain adoption.
“In the last year, we’ve seen a significant shift in how the global financial ecosystem is thinking about new business models fueled by digital assets, and how this is playing a meaningful role in financial infrastructure,” Deloitte Consulting principal Linda Pawczuk said.
The survey showed that the foundation of banking has been “fundamentally outlived,” she added.
Last year’s Global Blockchain Survey, conducted by Deloitte Consulting, found that about 40% of respondents from big global technology businesses have blockchain in production, with nearly 90% of respondents anticipating that blockchain will grow more relevant in the next three years.
