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Bank of America Tech Chief Is Skeptical of Blockchain Even Though The Company Has the Most Patents For It (cnbc.com)
Bank of America tech and operations chief Cathy Bessant said she is bearish on blockchain, the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies. "I will be curious to see what the actual volume of usage is on the JPM Coin in a year," she said. Slashdot reader technocrattobe shares a report from CNBC: "What I am is open-minded," Bessant said recently in an interview at the bank's New York tower. "In my private scoreboard, in the closet, I am bearish." Bessant is wading into the debate about the blockchain, whose proponents have claimed will be as significant as the internet. A blockchain is an encrypted database that runs on multiple computers, potentially cutting out the need for centralized authorities like banks or governments to settle transactions between parties.
The technology got a boost from rival J.P. Morgan Chase, which revealed last month that it created the first cryptocurrency backed by a major U.S. bank to facilitate blockchain-related payments. But Bessant, who oversees 95,000 technology workers and was named the most powerful woman in banking last year, is a pragmatist. She started out at Bank of America in 1982 as a commercial banker, eventually rising to a series of top roles, including head of corporate banking and chief marketing officer. She has run the bank's global technology and operations division since 2010. Most of what she sees doesn't make sense for finance or significantly improve upon existing methods. She said it's a technology in search of a use case, rather than something designed specifically to solve existing problems. "I haven't seen one [use case] that even scales beyond an individual or a small set of transactions," Bessant said. "All of the big tech companies will come and say 'blockchain, blockchain, blockchain.' I say, 'Show me the use case. You bring me the use case and I'll try it.'" She added: "I want it to work. Spiritually, I want it to make us better, faster, cheaper, more transparent, more, you know, all of those things."
The report notes that Bank of America "has applied for or received 82 blockchain-related patents, more than any other financial firm, including payment companies Mastercard and PayPal."
The technology got a boost from rival J.P. Morgan Chase, which revealed last month that it created the first cryptocurrency backed by a major U.S. bank to facilitate blockchain-related payments. But Bessant, who oversees 95,000 technology workers and was named the most powerful woman in banking last year, is a pragmatist. She started out at Bank of America in 1982 as a commercial banker, eventually rising to a series of top roles, including head of corporate banking and chief marketing officer. She has run the bank's global technology and operations division since 2010. Most of what she sees doesn't make sense for finance or significantly improve upon existing methods. She said it's a technology in search of a use case, rather than something designed specifically to solve existing problems. "I haven't seen one [use case] that even scales beyond an individual or a small set of transactions," Bessant said. "All of the big tech companies will come and say 'blockchain, blockchain, blockchain.' I say, 'Show me the use case. You bring me the use case and I'll try it.'" She added: "I want it to work. Spiritually, I want it to make us better, faster, cheaper, more transparent, more, you know, all of those things."
The report notes that Bank of America "has applied for or received 82 blockchain-related patents, more than any other financial firm, including payment companies Mastercard and PayPal."
Oh they are worried. When banks say they can't see a use can they mean they can. The internet will have a native currency and it won't be regulated or controlled by anything as arrogant as a bank.
Here is a use case, no one likes banks. Some people hate banks. Fees on deposit, fees on withdrawals, fees because the sky is blue. They have been controlling the global economy and people want a way out. Cryptocurrency gives them a way out.
BOA have the patents they have so that they can sue any successful business model developed that uses anything they can vaguely say infringes before they steal that business model. That's because banks don't innovate things they foreclose.
Now people realize that with a crypto wallet they can carry a bank around in their pocket that looks like a USB stick and transfer funds internationally without huge amounts of fees.
They see their demise and a scared silly.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.