Asset owners are more bullish on the future use of blockchain technology than money managers, said a survey by State Street Corp. and Oxford Economics.
Seventy-four percent of the asset owners surveyed said they believe blockchain technology will eventually be adopted, compared to 42% of money managers, according to a news release from State Street.
However, few asset owners and money managers — only 7% combined — are in the process of incorporating the use of the blockchain into their operations.
Among asset owners, 48% said they don't know enough about it, while 78% of money managers said they don't know enough about blockchain.
Blockchain — a distributed ledger technology that connects all computers that verify and validate transactions involving bitcoin — is under study for its potential use in settlements and back-office functions.
Also, 80% of all respondents said their information technology departments will be most affected by the use of blockchain technology, requiring the hiring of staff with the ability to adapt to new technology demands, and 90% are concerned that blockchain security is not adequate and must be improved before the technology will be adopted.
Executives from 50 asset owners — 27 corporate pension funds and 23 public plans — and 50 money managers were surveyed in January. Among the money managers, 29 had assets under management of $500 million or more. Forty percent of all respondents were based in North America, with 30% each in Asia-Pacific and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.