According to the report, 76% of the financial institutions surveyed plan to use cryptocurrencies in the next three years. Ripple’s new report highlights trends in the adoption and use of emerging technologies such as cryptocurrencies and blockchain in businesses and financial institutions.
Both financial institutions and businesses are realizing the benefits of using cryptocurrencies internally. The most common reason is that cryptocurrencies give more people access to more financial services, says 42% of financial institutions and 41% of companies.
According to the survey, portfolio management and payments appear as the most valuable additions to the business world. Portfolio management is detailed as hedging against inflation, hedging against other types of assets, and asset revaluation. The participants stated that security and data quality are two of the main advantages of using blockchain and cryptocurrencies for payments.
Nevertheless, being an emerging technology, its adoption remains an uphill battle for large institutions. According to the report, both companies and financial institutions consider the lack of general understanding to be one of the biggest challenges.
However, the report also underlines that the slowness of the regulations surrounding the sector raises the doubts of potential users. The regulations of countries around the world have been constantly changingas officials scramble to keep up with the fast-moving crypto scene.
Recently, US regulators came under scrutiny from the US Congress for their “non-judicial actions” against crypto companies. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is in the midst of implementing effective regulations on cryptocurrencies for one of the most active regions in the industry.
Despite the setbacks in cryptocurrencies and murky regulations, the report continues to reveal the active interest of global institutions in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). 34% of institutions surveyed say CBDCs will help “accelerate the digitization of finance” and give “greater access to credit for consumers and businesses.”
From a global perspective, the report analyzed regional interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on emotional versus functional benefits. Respondents from the Asia-Pacific region were three times more likely to purchase an NFT for sentimental or emotional reasons compared to other reasons. Of the eight NFT genres listed, 55% said that music-related NFTs interest them the most.
Sustainability was also evaluated, as it continues to be a hot topic both inside and outside the industry. According to Ripple data, more than 75% of surveyed consumers prefer to buy sustainable cryptocurrencies. More than 20% state that they would only buy “sustainable” cryptocurrencies.
Keep reading:
Investments in crypto assets are not regulated. They may not be suitable for retail investors and the full amount invested may be lost. The services or products offered are not aimed at or accessible to investors in Spain.