While the advent of the Internet offered the possibility of increased global connectivity, blockchain has the potential to take this advancement to the next level, writes Sergey Ponomarev, the CEO of SONM.

Appliances, wearables, vehicles and other machines may deliver information directly to a blockchain that would validate personal and device identity.

Reflections and insights from the CUNA Tech and Operations & Member Experience Councils conferences held recenlty in Phoenix.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web, exhorted developers to think about unintended consequences, saying he felt guilty over the digital divide and the proliferation of fake news.

IBM plans to use blockchain technology to power real-time execution for international transfers, joining the push to streamline a traditionally cumbersome payment type.

"Jamie Dimon gets paid to worry about bitcoin because he's a rent-taker," said Mike Novogratz, a former principal and macro fund manager at Fortress Investment Group. "The decentralized revolution is about going after the rent-takers."

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) has issued a preliminary report stating blockchain can make cross-border payments more efficient.

Credit Suisse, State Street and several other banks are experimenting with a blockchain technology that could allow them to make corporate deposits more affordable to hold on their books.

The convenience of receiving payments within seconds, with the minimal transaction fees that bitcoin provides, means a lot to a business, writes Mariam Nishanian from Dentacoin.

Bankers need to set aside their post-crisis aversion to risk, recapture some of the magic they once practiced as innovators, fear fintechs less, and worry about the Googles and Amazons more, says Peter Memon, a bank IT veteran turned global consultant.