Blockchain, DeFI, NFTs: From use cases to business plan

Abstract

The financial sector and banks have existed since ancient times. Their history has been marked by crises and moments of prosperity. Innovation has often been the driver of the sector, allowing it to evolve and rebuild each time. New technologies are more than ever at the heart of current events in the sector, particularly with the development of Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). Blockchain can be described as one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century, a ‘business game changer’ and has been compared to the Internet of value. These technologies require a different way of thinking and will make banks question their strategic positioning. This paper aims to, first, describe the impacts of Blockchain in the financial sector and to decipher innovations such as decentralised finance (DeFI) or non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Second, it analyses the innovation strategies of banks in the face of a technology with disruptive potential.