Beware the hype! Blockchain is not all it seems in the news

The news media is overly aggressive about blockchain progress. Multinational corporations in banking, technology, and other industries are skeptical of blockchain technology, but the media rarely reports on it. It's like a very large company creating its own industry with little overlap with other fields, which is exactly what Bitcoin is. What's so special about this industry? So far, there has been no real progress except for the crazy speculation about blockchain technology.

The excitement of blockchain seems to have created a whole new industry, the blockchain industry. When you attend a blockchain conference, you won’t see the famous people in the Bitcoin field, but instead you will see many experts in the banking and technology fields.

On Google Trends, you’ll find that Bitcoin is currently more famous than blockchain, but blockchain has appeared in a large number of Google tags.

Blockchain supporters will tell you that blockchain is a technology that can change the world. However, Citigroup is skeptical of the ledger technology. This week, three Citigroup researchers, Keith Horowitz , Adrien Porter and Michael Croni, released a 48-page survey report in which they are not optimistic about the recent boom in blockchain technology.

Horowitz writes:

“We do not see blockchain technology as a threat to high-value cross-border bank payments. Large international banks need to move assets across borders because money can only be physically exchanged through the central bank system.”

Keith Horowitz

The investigators added:

“It doesn’t look like the central bank wants to give up control of the money supply.”

Although researchers are not optimistic about the development of blockchain technology, Citibank has been working hard to explore this technology.

In 2015, Citibank announced its progress in ledger technology. Kenneth Moore, head of Citigroup’s Innovation Lab, said:

“We have three blockchain systems in place within Citi to develop blockchain technology. They are currently experimental and still in a pre-production stage, so there is no actual currency circulating through these systems. In the lab, we are also experimenting with how Bitcoin works, so we can mine Citicoin. Although this is still experimental, it is to ensure that we are at the forefront of the technology and better take advantage of the opportunities that are there.”

What they intend to do with these experiments seems to be up for debate. Many of the blockchain projects discussed by mainstream financial institutions are theoretical models. These are the main issues at present, and the adoption of ledger technology does not mean that central banks must give up control of the money supply.

Instead, with this new, transparent, open system, central banks can better control the money supply. With a more transparent centralized money supply system, the economy can be guaranteed to grow smoothly. In the end, this is exactly what blockchain advocates expect.

Although Citigroup does not believe that blockchain will replace mainstream technology, the banking industry estimates that 40%-50% of staff will be cut as banks move towards a digital model. The report pointed out that branches and related staff costs account for 65% of the total retail costs of a large bank, many of which can be saved through automation.

It is too early to say whether blockchain can replace manual labor, but the logistics department is discussing how blockchain will change the business process. At the end of last year, the Financial Times published an article about how blockchain will change the logistics department.

“Blockchain is not a currency, but a way to efficiently record transactions, which is what attracted us to it,”

Nicolas Granatino of Andurance Ventures told the FT

“We haven’t put any money into it yet, but we’re always looking for opportunities.”

Preston Byrne, COO of Eris, added:

“Using blockchain to enable debt repayment, factoring, insurance, and other things that require manual labor is a more interesting model.”

In Citigroup’s 48-page report, the bank struck a mild tone, not quite as boldly celebrating the success of blockchain technology as Santander, which predicts it will save the industry $20 billion a year.

Original article: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/blockhain-isnt-all-that/
By Justin O'Connell
Translator: Wang Er
BTC address: 16enj2bapYdzPfa2DWSVaT1g95MCXg2hHt
Editor: Kyle
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/blockhain-isnt-all-that‎)