## Blockchain picking up in awareness
The euphoria and the hype around the blockchain have vanished. But the fact that companies are more sceptical about technology than before has its advantages: The applications are becoming more concrete and meaningful. YES!!

https://www.cash.ch/sites/default/files/public/styles/main_top/public/images/library/tablet-4457913_1920.jpg?itok=TtUF85lp&c=d3d7d737375014915c4eaffa656ffaff

## Past - 2 years ago! 
The actual expectations were huge: Blockchain, the decentralized data chain, would revolutionize the economy. Because the blockchain in principle enables direct exchange between business partners, the financial sector could be eliminated as an intermediary over time, it was said.

There was a feverish certainty in the tech hubs that applications using distributed ledger technology (DLT), as the transaction documentation system is also known, would be almost limitless. But so far it is primarily blockchain-based crypto currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum through which technology plays a role in the everyday lives of a large number of market participants.  

Investors, on the other hand, have lost massive amounts of money, and not only when speculating with Bitcoin. Initial coin offerings (ICOs), in which start-ups collect money via a crypto currency, have flopped in rows. The global controversy over the Facebook currency Libra, which is supposed to be based on a blockchain of its own, has also put the whole issue in a rather skewed light. On the "Hype Cycle" of the blockchain one is at present rather in the valley of disillusionment and no longer in the phase of high expectations. 

## A lot of testing continues
The general feeling of disillusionment is further aggravated by the fact that in the USA, for example, more and more companies or government agencies have abolished the "Head of Blockchain" position, which had been created in a hurry not so long ago. But surveys also show that companies are divided on the question of the benefits of the blockchain as a whole.

More and more companies estimate that distribution ledger technology allows transparent tracking and tracing of transactions, which can be applied in numerous industries. The example of the French retail group Carrefour, which has optimized the security of food deliveries with the help of the blockchain, is much cited. In Switzerland, Migros launched a similar project in September.

Fintechs and financial groups are also continuing to try out a lot. At the beginning of 2019, for example, Credit Suisse ran a complete fund transaction via the block chain (cash reported). Private banks, asset managers and insurers are also still very interested in such solutions, as Nils Reimelt of the consulting firm Capco says. "The problem, however, is that banks don't touch their IT systems for this.

## The blockchain needs an ecosystem
Reimelt sees two problems, which can complicate the way to a broad application of the blockchain in the financial industry for years to come. On the one hand, the blockchain requires entire business models to be rethought. "There are also losers who no longer have a role to play in the new world," he added. On the other hand, a complete ecosystem is needed to make applications on the blockchain a success: "The blockchain does not do much good in isolation," says Reimelt.

A recent initiative by parts of the financial industry is the tokenization of assets. UBS and SIX Group, for example, but also Swisscom, the telecom group, are involved in this application, which aims to make securities and shares in other assets, such as art objects or real estate, easier to trade in the form of tokens.

The blockchain is intended to make assets more liquid and trading more cost-effective. But many questions remain unanswered, as Reimelt recalls: For example, the question of how a work of art owned by a large number of shareholders via tokens will be insured. And: "Everything has to be tokenized, including cash - otherwise such transactions make no sense. This is the only way to ignite all the advantages of the blockchain."

## What works, what doesn't make sense?
Despite all the difficulties, the overall thrust of the companies is becoming more precise. Today, large companies are much more interested in how the blockchain can bring them commercial benefits. "The fog is somewhat dissipating," says Andreas Dietrich, professor of banking in Lucerne. "In the meantime, companies are better able to understand what works and what makes less sense at the moment.

In trade finance, 13 European banks, including UBS, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Santander, Nordea and Société Générale, have joined forces with we.trade to create a common platform: "The Blockchain is a good method for this," says Dietrich. Distributed ledger technology makes trade finance more transparent, easy to track and, above all, faster.

## China invests massively
A look at the other side of the world also shows that definitely not the last hour of the blockchain has struck. Chinese banks have just created a billions pool to build a new bank block chain. As the example of Tencent's We-Chat shows, China has already managed to build an entire platform around a digitization product. Today, social media applications, money transactions and other functions are linked to the original messaging app.

It is possible that China will ultimately show the rest of the world the way to blockchain - but against the background that China does not promote technology for the further development of the financial industry and the economy, but also brings with it numerous opportunities for control from the point of view of the state.