UBS CEO: Blockchain to Play 'Big Role' in Reshaping Industry

The CEO is the latest to raise doubts about cryptocurrency, which also banking on blockchain to make his business simpler and easier.

AccessTimeIconOct 27, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 13, 2021 at 7:05 a.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Add the CEO of Swiss banking giant UBS to the "blockchain not bitcoin" crowd.

In a new interview with CNBC this week, Sergio Ermotti expressed doubt about cryptocurrencies, stating that the role of the technology still "needs to be defined."

However, he was more bullish on private distributed ledger technologies, noting his company has already invested in a partnership with IBM to run international trade transactions on a blockchain.

He told CNBC:

"I believe there is a future for blockchain technology, and [that] technology will play a big role in changing and reshaping our industry."

With the remarks, Ermotti joins other financial sector luminaries, such as Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett, who have recently cast doubt on both bitcoin and the cryptocurrency asset class more broadly. Although, he perhaps hinted most at the divide between permissionless blockchain technologies, like bitcoin, and bank-sponsored alternatives.

UBS and IBM's joint project, for example, is called Batavia, and it has been built on the open-source Hyperledger Fabric framework.

IBM announced that Bank of Montreal, CaixaBank, Commerzbank and Erste Group had all also joined the project earlier this month.

Photo via Remy Steinegger at World Economic Forum

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.