Developments in 2018
Will 2018 be the year in which the wider financial services industry starts to develop and roll out blockchain-based concepts?
Mr Rutter thinks so. "Players across the financial services industry are engaged in blockchain proof-of-concepts. There is a growing sense that 2018 will be the year where the best of these projects transition to commercial rollouts."
A lot of it comes back to the fact that the end consumers, as evidenced by the jump in Bitcoin's capitalisation from approximately $16bn early on in 2017 to $326bn in December 2017 (before falling back to $110bn in January) "want this to exist", says Mr Pieper.
"It's not just the technology but also the interest, attention and credibility that has come into the space today," he believes.
Ari Nazir, managing partner and chief investment officer of the $APEX Token Fund - a tokenised cryptocurrency fund of hedge funds for retail investors - thinks 2018 will be the year that central banks get in on the blockchain act.
He says: "We expect major central banks, such as the Bank of England, will release public roadmaps for incorporating blockchain technology into their monetary policy management."
It is already fast becoming a possibility for making it easier for people to invest in frontier market investments, given the relatively lower levels of financial regulation in the so-called frontier markets.
In a report by specialist investment firm Exotix Capital, because of poor infrastructure, lower regulation and poor ownership records, this means the barriers to blockchain succeeding is much lower than it is in developed markets with excellent infrastructure, records and high levels of regulation.
The report commented: "Frontier markets may be positioned to leapfrog developed economies through blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
"There are four key functions that blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies provide, which are of unique utility in frontier economies with weak economic and governance institutions." These are:
- A clear reliable record of ownership (blockchain).
- A mechanism for contract enforcement (blockchain).
- A means of exchange (crypto).
- A store of value (crypto).
Because blockchain can provide a "clear, reliable record of anything", this could help more companies in frontier markets to develop these technologies and produce greater returns, without having to deal with weak governments, and potentially remove some barriers for overseas investors to benefit from such innovations.
For Mr Chambers, the possibilities are boundless: "Blockchain will increase productivity in some of the most change-resistant industries and thereby create huge value by releasing resources into higher value-added areas."
simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
