What’s Next for Blockchain? The Research Frontier

Previous: The Future of Banking: My Final Take

We’ve covered a lot of ground this week. But as Pierluigi Martino points out in the final chapter of Blockchain and Banking, we’re still just at the beginning. Most of what we “know” about blockchain in banking is still just theory.

So, what are the smart people in universities and innovation labs actually looking at next?

Show Me the Money (The Empirical Gap)

Right now, we have a lot of “proofs of concept” and “pilots.” What we don’t have is a lot of hard data on whether these projects actually make banks more profitable.

• Does a blockchain mortgage really save as much as we think?
• Do customers actually care if their payment was settled on a ledger or a traditional database?

The next wave of research will be all about the hard numbers.

The Success Factors

Why do some blockchain projects succeed while others fail? Martino suggests we need to look closer at the internal factors (like having the right tech talent) and external factors (like having a clear legal framework).

Finding the “secret sauce” for a successful blockchain implementation is the new Holy Grail for banking researchers.

Technology Mashups

Blockchain doesn’t live in a vacuum. Researchers are now looking at how it works with other big tech trends:

• AI + Blockchain: Using AI to analyze the massive amount of data on the ledger.
• IoT + Blockchain: Connecting shipping containers and cargo directly to the financial system via smart contracts.

The Global Roadmap

Countries like Australia and Japan are already creating “National Roadmaps” for blockchain. They aren’t just letting it happen; they’re trying to build entire ecosystems.

The goal? To make sure their banks aren’t left behind when the rest of the world moves to digital assets.

My Final Wrap-up

Reading this book made me realize that blockchain isn’t a “magic wand” that will fix everything overnight. It’s a tool—a very powerful one—that requires a lot of hard work, new rules, and better research to get right.

Thanks for following along with this series! Tomorrow, I’ll share my final key takeaways from the whole book and my overall impressions.

Next: Final Thoughts: Blockchain and Banking Recap

Book Metadata:

• Title: Blockchain and Banking: How Technological Innovations Are Shaping the Banking Industry
• Author: Pierluigi Martino
• ISBN: 978-3-030-70969-3