Im still yet to understand what the point of integrating blockchain technology into the banking industry really solves at all. The point of the blockchain is to decentralized the accounting of the ledger (the blockchain is ultimately a ledger, so somebody tell me how in hell this is of any use at all without the decentralized consensus + token to incentivize powering said decentralization).
for years i have been helping people to learn what bitcoin is. and when it comes to the older generation.. comparing bitcoin to a digital cheque has been helpful
the numbers along the bottom of a cheque (account/routing/bank branch) can be seen as the location the funds are coming from.. the to: is where they are going to go. the amount is how much to move and the signature is the proof of authorization.
all aspects that are easy to grasp and then can be described easily when translating it to a bitcoin transaction.
so i can see where banks were thinking the idea of using it in regards to "cheques" as its a easy comparison
also the fact (from reasing the articles involved, there economy is 60% in cheque form)
because the ledger does away with a 'clearing house' in a tradition sense, by automating it in code..
and because retailers know that funds wont bounce because they can verify funds exist, i can see advantages to them thinking of moving to such a new tech system
however even in bitcoin its still a possibility of doing double spends and banks dont want to be rendered useless so i feel that the banks are going to try a bitgo method (multisig requiring third part authorisation) to atleast offer a fast dependable 'token' currency, while keeping banks in a useful and relevant position.
what i say above is more for the transaction authorisation that does not need to be distributed. but i can also see that by distributing the ledger across many bank branches does 2 things.
1. strengthens the security against hackers attempting to 51% the authorisation of new ledger entries
2. strengthens the security against nefarious bank staff attempting to alter bank records individually.
however on the whole. needing a third party to do this is a swing vote.
for: users dont need to be full nodes and can run mobile apps.
against: users dont need to be full nodes and can run mobile apps.
after all there are over 2 million bitcoin users but only 6000 nodes so it seems the majority of people still prefer 'managed services' rather than a real decentralized currency.
in my personal opinion. banks can do what they like. but it will never be better than bitcoin
