Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance participates in "The Blockchain Revolution in Banks and Financial Institutions" research

Clifford Chance has participated in the research on inventions, investments and projects that relate to blockchain technology, at 234 major financial institutions around the world carried out by MINDSMITH. The authors of the study have identified global and regional trends at financial institutions by analysing 515 projects, 367 patents and 88 investment deals.

“Today, financial institutions are under tremendous pressure: the needs of their clients are changing with the arrival of the 'digital generation', complying with the rules for doing business means ever greater costs and innovative fintech projects are laying claim to a significant piece of the pie. Financial institutions understand that they have to change. The changes that are needed could not only affect their product offer, they could lead to an overhaul of the very roles that these institutions play. We can't get a look behind the scenes at financial institutions' R&D departments, but we can, from various indirect signs, draw inferences about where these structures see themselves in 5–10 years. In terms of the digital transformation, we can, basically, see some of the scenarios through which that's going to take place. They can develop their own solutions, buy them in or acquire a company and, with it, its solutions and experience. We based our analysis of how major global financial institutions are working with blockchain technology on these three scenarios. In this study we discuss what financial institutions' attempts to 'reinvent' themselves might lead to: the new roles they might play, what markets might appear and how the landscape might change in terms of power in the financial sector.” – Ruslan Yusufov, managing partner, MINDSMITH.

“In the last couple of years, the majority of institutions have left behind their scepticism about blockchain technology and are now really mobilising to search out the advantages to be had from it and the best possible solutions for its practical implementation in business and daily life. Although legal regulation of blockchain-based products and services has not kept pace with the development of the technology itself, such regulation does already exist in some form or another in a lot of developed jurisdictions. The vast scope for application of the blockchain and the value of its application in the ongoing digitalisation of the modern world are now clear for all to see, although the degree to which its potential is realised will depend on an array of factors, including what regulatory requirements have to be met. In this study, we talk about the potential legal problems that a developer of blockchain solutions might come up against.” – Alexander Anichkin, partner, Clifford Chance.

Read the full report.