It appears the dawn of smart contracts in the finance sector is well on the horizon. A research presented by PwC has shown a substantial intention among IT decision-makers within the financial realm to engage these digitally entrusted agreements. The findings revealed almost half of the professionals in this area aim to deploy smart contracts sooner rather than later, with every third respondent seeing them as potential replacements for traditional financial transactions.
Notably, smart contracts bring along a palette of benefits. These digitized agreements allow for speeding up business processes while also enhancing their efficiency. The automation of execution and monitoring can lead to significant cost reductions. Lastly, the utilisation of AI means contract terms can be swiftly and smoothly adjusted when needed.
Confidence among surveyed professionals regarding the reliability of smart contracts is soaring, a hefty 95% are singing praises of the cybersecurity benefits these contracts offer, while the same percentage admires the transparency enhancement possible with smart contracts. The possible financial impact cannot be understated either; 84% are hoping to see sales spike, meanwhile, over half are looking forward to saving money, and nearly 75% believe these contracts have the potential to push sustainability objectives forward.
Presently, areas where smart contracts are breaking ground include digitizing transaction networks, developing new digital business models, and propelling peer-to-peer payments. Some ambitious actors plan to couple smart contracts with AI and employ them within sustainable or decentralised finance.
The path forward with adopting smart contracts isn’t void of obstacles, though. To illustrate, a sparse 19% of the surveyed service providers make use of smart contracts. This is primarily ascribed to a lack of skilled personnel to undertake these complex applications and incorporate them into their respective business flows.
Legal headaches pose as another roadblock, with apprehensions regarding legal security and data privacy acting as a deterrent for many. But there is a silver lining; technological resolutions like zero-knowledge proofs in blockchain platforms can assure adherence to data protection regulations. Hence, the future of smart contracts in finance might be brighter than it seems.
So, are we witnessing the dawn of a new era in finance or simply walking another step along the long, winding technology evolution road? Only time can tell.
Source: Cryptonews
