In an effort to provide a deeper insight about the impact of Blockchain technologies and how such technologies will affect the financial services industry and even personal life in not-so-distant future, FinanceMalta hosted a half-day educational clinic at the MFSA conference facilities entitled The Blockchain Disruption. The clinic was also intended to be an eye-opener into why Blockchain technologies cannot be ignored by industry professionals.
In his introduction FinanceMalta head of Business Development, Ivan Grech said that "the Blockchain is the technological innovation on top of which the Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies have been created; yet the impact of the blockchain technologies will be much broader than the financial services sector alone. In addition to financial services and payment services, a number of sectors of the economy will be deeply affected, like: insurance, identity management, legal services, notarization services, media, commodities, supply chain, energy, Internet of Things, luxury goods, provenance and authenticity tracking, public services and more".
Mr Grech added that, "while financial services will be affected first hand, as the technology matures and is adopted, it is in the larger consumer space that network effects will be observed, making Blockchain technologies a foundational innovation similar to what has been experienced in the last 25-30 years with the Internet. Likewise, they will be the breeding ground for new kinds of services and business models."
The seminar was also addressed by Steve Tendon, managing director of Tameflow Consulting Ltd, who gave a historic overview on the potential of the Blockchain. He was followed by a presentation by Wayne Pisani, partner, Tax & Regulatory, Corporate and Financial Services from Grant Thornton on Working with Blockchain. After a short break the delegates came together to a panel session on the Perspectives and Insight about Blockchain, which saw the participation of Dr Max Ganado, senior partner, Ganado Advocates and Eric Benz, CEO Cryptopay.