Blockchain could put Wall Street recordkeepers out of work

A U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioner said earlier this week that blockchain technology could replace the jobs of professional recordkeepers if widely adopted by the world’s financial institutions.

On December 1 , Commissioner J Christopher Giancarlo spoke about Bitcoin and blockchain technology during a speech at the “ Broad Focus on New Financial Technologies ” event hosted by Harvard Law School .

Giancarlo said that Bitcoin in the open ledger " has the potential to revolutionize the existing financial ecosystem. " The best example is the recent cooperation between the London Stock Exchange, Chicago Mercantile Exchange and other world-renowned financial institutions to establish a blockchain settlement center.

He noted that such a revolution is due to happen and that the impact of the financial sector on these jobs today is crucial.

“ This transformation will not be without consequences, however, it involves a disruptive innovation that will have an impact on the human capital of financial market records. On the other hand, blockchain will help reduce the huge costs of the financial system infrastructure, requiring the development of new laws and regulations, including the Dodd - Frank Act.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission classified bitcoin as a commodity in September when it ordered the closure of unregistered bitcoin trading platform Coinflip .

The agency later determined that TeraExchange had violated the Commodity Exchange Act, which governs commodity futures exchanges in the United States.