76% of global financial leaders believe digital assets will become a strong alternative or potentially completely replace fiat currencies in the next 5-10 years, according to a new survey by the world's leading accounting firm Deloitte.
In research titled Deloitte's 2021 Global Blockchain Survey, the company said its findings say banks should therefore embrace the inevitable digital future. This is due to the expected impact that blockchain-based digital assets are expected to have in the transformation of the financial services sector (FSI) from physical to digital.
"Digital assets are disrupting the entire financial market and every organization and industry that is a customer of the financial instruments of the financial services sector (FSI), from money to stocks and the infrastructure for any type of transaction, is changing for the better" .
The new survey reflects the views and perceptions about blockchain and digital assets from an interviewed sample of 1.280 executives and professionals across 10 locations. These are the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Mainland China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.
The shift towards digital assets is underway
Rapid change was observed in three main areas, deposits and custody, payments and access to finance. The change also gave rise to a more dedicated group of FSI pioneers who prioritized blockchain and digital assets as part of their top five strategies for their companies' visions.
Under deposits and custody, 63% of FSI pioneers see digital assets play an important role in their organizations, while 63% said this will happen with lower payouts. 70% found that digital assets will increase their access to funding sources.
Digital assets and cryptocurrency-based solutions influence FSI trends
Additionally, the survey determined that digital assets are now driving new fundamentals in FSI. For example, 81% believe blockchain's scalability advantage has reached traditional adoption, while 73% believe organizations that will not adopt digital assets could lose their competitive edge. Another 80% said their industries can achieve profitable or additional revenue streams by adopting digital assets or cryptocurrency-based solutions.
Additionally, respondents identified 5 primary roles digital assets will play in their organizations and their level of importance. 45% believe that the custody of digital assets will play a very important role, 42% believe that digital assets will become very important as new channels or types of payment, while 41% believe they will use digital assets to diversify their investments and wallets.
Additionally, 39% said they will use digital assets to access decentralized financial platforms, while a further 39% said they will use digital assets to tokenize their assets.
Regulation is still a major concern
Despite the enthusiasm for digital assets and blockchain, respondents voiced views on five key areas that require maximum modification to enable greater adoption.
68% mentioned data security and privacy, 58% reported industry-specific regulatory issues, 49% internal controls and financial reporting, 48% mentioned geography-specific regulations, and 46% expressed concerns for internal / external audits.
Deloitte conducted the research between March 10 and April 10 during the 2021 bull market peak.
