By Jason Dorrier – Finance has been computerized for decades. An ungodly number of daily trades are executed by algorithm. The speed of the market is superhuman—on the order of microseconds—and finance’s population of wonks is probably second only to tech.
Fintech is more about how the ethos of startups, apps, the internet, and all things digital has begun to infiltrate Wall Street, taking aim at long-standing business models. It’s the promise that small teams coding software can be corporate killers.
According to Catheryne Nicholson, CEO and cofounder of BlockCypher, no distributed ledger like blockchain would work without the incentive to validate transactions—and digital currency (in the form, for example, of Bitcoin mining) is that incentive.
Blockchain and digital currencies may mean no more fees for ferrying cash between pockets, a vastly simplified financial back office—which today is consumed by clearing and validating transactions—and even companies that fund and then run themselves.
Middlemen. Who needs ’em? more> http://goo.gl/peMhAz
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