Blockchain Could ‘Jeopardize the Safety’ of Current Financial Marketplace, DTCC Exec

Fintech is believed to be a “systemic risk” to the broader economy, according to a survey conducted by the United States Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Dec. 11.

20 percent of respondents to the so-called “DTCC Systemic Risk Barometer,” identified fintech among the system risks for the global economy in 2019. The results are up from 15 percent in last year’s survey.

Stephen Scharf, DTCC’s Managing Director and Chief Security Officer, declared that the increased concern over fintech “demonstrates a growing awareness of the potential risk and highlights the need to evaluate both risks and rewards associated with fintech initiatives.” He then explained:

“As the industry continues to adopt fintech innovations, like blockchain, AI and cloud solutions, we must ensure that those innovations do not jeopardize the safety and security of the current global financial marketplace.”

Figures in traditional finance have often proven wary of cryptocurrency and the technology behind it, blockchain. As Cointelegraph reported mid-November, an Executive of the European Central Bank (ECB) defined Bitcoin the “evil spawn of the [2008] financial crisis.”

This month Andreas Utermann, the CEO of major investment management firm Allianz, declared that crypto assets should be “outlawed” during a panel in London. On the same panel, Andrew Bailey, the head of United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) argued that crypto assets lack “intrinsic value.”