With our workshop, entitled “Blockchain technology – opportunities and challenges", we want to enable a lively exchange between researchers, practitioners and regulators. Each of these groups, in its own right, has a keen interest in this topic. But, as Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker once said: "An exchange of views requires people to talk to each other, not about each other".
Given the importance of accurate and timely information in the financial services industry, it is not surprising that this sector has been affected enormously by the adoption of new technologies. The resultant advances in the flow of information have greatly facilitated the development of a wide range of new financial products.