Digital currencies and blockchain platforms are by nature in the business of putting financial overlords out of business. If individuals and institutions can transact directly at a significantly lower cost due to the removal of exchange intermediaries, then there is less of a need for traditional Banks and other controllers of the money game. For example, transaction intermediaries (e.g., card networks like Mastercard) — five or more of which are currently required to complete the end-to-end processing of, say, your coffee purchase at Starbucks — are potentially put at risk.

Many financial institutions are sharing the heavy exploratory lifting by funding or joining partnerships to chase and deploy opportunities for individual and joint cost savings, such as with lower inter-bank settlement fees. Over 40 industry consortiums, mostly in the financial arena, are actively exploring blockchain use cases, developing rules and standards, and creating platforms for a range of economic activities including cross-border payments, asset management, and trading. Many of these consortiums serve as a kind of commercial international space station. All participants know that there are advantages to joint exploration and shared costs, but there is also competition at play in a still unexplored environment.

On the institutional investment front, hedge fund managers everywhere are racing to get into the digital currency game. Specialized crypto hedge funds now allow investors to put their money into a pool of existing and new cryptocurrencies. Hedge funds are likely to continue their lead in digital currency investments.

In the highly lucrative business of money transfers, a global leader Western Union does not appear to be overly concerned about blockchain-based Cryptocurrency money movement competitors. Upstarts in the crypto money transfer space advertise lower money transfer fees using bitcoin, but Western Union counters that the ease of use and ubiquity of their existing systems, and lack of customer demand for crypto-based systems, do not offer enough of an incentive to change course.

No doubt some legacy institutions are hesitant to try the new technologies at a time when existing systems still work and are profitable. They understandably want to see how other large companies and startups fare before making significant investments of their own. But the writing is on the wall, especially since startups in the fintech world are nipping at their heels and driving the development of new, innovative solutions.

Another sector facing a real threat from cryptocurrencies and the new funding model they have spawned venture capital. If issuing a token through an ICO can generate millions of dollars in only hours after a new symbol is offered for public purchase (a situation which is not uncommon), startups don’t need to jump through the hoops typically required to get VC funding. Furthermore, in the crypto-capital universe, blockchain startups don’t need to relinquish full ownership of their companies or worry about eventual Shareholders are bossing them around. Instead of demanding business plans, VCs may eventually need to develop a business plan of their own to stay competitive.