The future of financial infrastructure: An ambitious look at how blockchain can reshape financial services

The future of financial infrastructureAn ambitious look at how blockchain can reshape financial servicesAn Industry Project of the Financial Services Community | Prepared in collaboration with DeloittePart of the Future of Financial Services Series • August 2016 ForewordConsistent with the World Economic Forum’s mission of applying a multistakeholder approach to address issues of global impact, creating this report involved extensive outreach and dialogue with the Financial Services Community, Innovation Community, Technology Community, academia and the public sector. The dialogue included numerous interviews and interactive sessions to discuss the insights and opportunities for collaborative action.Sincere thanks to the industry and subject matter experts who contributed unique insights to this report. In particular, the members of this Financial Services Community project’s Steering Committee and Working Group, who are introduced in the Acknowledgements section, played an invaluable role as experts and patient mentors.We are also very grateful to Deloitte Consulting LLP in the US, an entity within the Deloitte1network, for its generous commitment and support in its capacity as the official professional services adviser to the World Economic Forum for this project.2WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM | 20161Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (“DTTL”), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/aboutfor a more detailed description of DTTL and its member firms. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/aboutfor a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.This publication contains general information only and Deloitte is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services, nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business, you should consult a qualified professional advisor. Deloitte shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this publication.ContactFor feedback or questions:R. Jesse McWaters, Lead Authorjesse.mcwaters@weforum.org+1 (212) 703 6633 The Distributed Ledger Technology project is the most recent phase of the Forum’s ongoing Disruptive Innovation in Financial Services work3WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM | 2016THE FUTURE OF FINANCIAL SERVICESThe Future of Financial Services project explored the landscape of disruptive innovations in financial services, provided the first consolidated taxonomy for these disruptions, and explored their potential impacts on the structure of the industryBEYOND THE FUTURE OF FINANCIAL SERVICESThis phase of the disruptive innovation work explores two topics with key potential as foundational enablers of future disruption20152016This project explores the potential for distributed ledger technology to transform the infrastructure of the financial services industryThe future of financial infrastructure: An ambitious look at how blockchain can reshape financial servicesA Blueprint for Digital Identity: The Role of Financial Institutions in building Digital IdentityThis project explores the potential for digital identity in financial services and beyond and lays out a blueprint for the implementation of effective digital identity systems Contents4WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM | 2016Acknowledgements..........................................................................................................................................................................................5Executive SummaryContext and Approach.................................................................................................................................................................................................13Key Findings..................................................................................................................................................................................................................17Use Case Deep‐DivesApproach.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................32Summaries...................................................................................................................................................................................................................