IBM: 65% of World's Major Banks to Use Blockchain By 2019

The latest survey from IBM suggests 65 percent of major global banks will use blockchain technology within just three years, while CEO Ginni Rometty warns that slow responses will damage businesses.

Also read: IBM to Launch First Commercial Blockchain in September

17% of Banks to Have Full Blockchain Product, IBM Reports

The tech giant, whose latest findings come from 200 banks and another 200 other financial institutions, released the data Wednesday.

“Leading the Pack in Blockchain Banking: Trailblazers Set the Pace” also reports that 15 percent of global banks will have a fully fledged blockchain product in operation by 2017.

The figures highlight the astonishing pace at which the technology has taken hold of traditional finance. Institutions are rapidly forming solutions to avoid being left behind, a sentiment echoed by IBM’s CEO Ginni Rometty.

Speaking at the Sibos Conference, organized somewhat ironically by SWIFT — suffering major hacks this year due to its members’ insufficient security technology — Rometty stressed an obligation to move with the times.

“I am not talking about bitcoin or a cybercurrency, but the [underlying] technology that allows you to have trust and efficiency in the exchange of anything,” she said. “This will have a profound change in how the world works. . .The blockchain will do for transactions what the internet did for information.”

She added that 38 percent of IBM’s revenue, or $31 billion USD, was set aside for “helping you become digital.”

Mixed Perspectives on Blockchain Integrity

Rometty also drew a distinction between her company’s stance on blockchain immutability and that of other institutions. Private, bank-operated blockchains have been announced, for example, with caveats to ensure full control still resides in the hands of their creators.

“Blockchains have to be immutable — you can’t change them and you can’t delete them,” she said.

IBM has had a lengthening, albeit experimental, relationship with the blockchain for quite some time, vying with the likes of Microsoft to research and produce use cases.

“IBM Delivers Blockchain-As-A-Service for Developers; Commits to Making Blockchain Ready for Business. To help developers quickly begin exploring the use of blockchain in the enterprise,” the company stated in a press release for its digital ledger deliverance product in February this year.

“We have done well over 300 blockchain engagements,” Rometty added at Sibos.

The latest report meanwhile highlights similar feeling across traditional finance, and that blockchain moves were not confined to banks themselves.

Of the 200 other institutions surveyed, 14 percent were likewise looking to implement commercial products based on the technology by 2017.

What do you think about IBM’s findings? Let us know in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, IBM.

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