The blockchain had a fairly quiet and auspicious beginning more than a decade ago, but coupled with the struggles of any nascent technology and the advent of cryptocurrency and the more scam-prone NFT descendants, it's been a rocky few years.
Despite its myriad of legal, ethical and fiduciary pitfalls, the underlying technology is something many, like Sarah Hammer, still believe in.
Hammer, the managing director of the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance and senior director of the Harris Alternative Investments Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, lectured this week at the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville's Global Business Luncheon about the technology, its challenges and what the future could hold.
Her lecture began in a similar fashion to all symposiums related to distributed ledger technology, with an explainer. She quickly listed the litany of problems with our current financial infrastructure, mostly the speed and cost of transactions, and how technology like the blockchain can help speed up that process and increase security.
She gave the example of Zelle or CashApp. Although transferring money to other users seems instant, there is actually a two-day settling time period that if accelerated requires an interest payment fee. With the advent of decentralized financed, or DeFi, she said, those problems can be reduced.
Despite her optimism on the blockchain technology, she was more reserved about cryptocurrency.
"This is not financial advice," she joked while quoting the oft-used phrase internet users on forums spout repeatedly. After recounting a whirlwind of news surrounding FTX's failure, TerraLuna's collapse, bank runs and stalled legislation governing oversight, she said she remains committed.
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