ING believes that distributed ledger technology (DLT), including blockchain, can positively impact traditional financial services. Technologies like smart contracts and tokenisation enable the domain of digital assets, which can enable ING to deliver new value to our customers.
Development of the digital asset ecosystem is accelerating; one important reason is regulatory clarity in Europe. The EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR) is entering into force in July/Dec 2024 and is expected to support the adoption of digital means of payment, such as stablecoins.
Digital assets benefit from blockchain characteristics that are promising for financial services: speed (instant transactions), programmability (automated execution based on pre-defined rules), immutability (information added to the blockchain remains unaltered), and a distributed structure (no single point of failure). Application of these benefits will have to be further proven through experimentation.
Blockchain at ING
ING selectively experiments with blockchain technology. We prudently develop business in areas close to our core, where we can add value to our customers and/or achieve operational benefits, without losing sight of the associated risks. Please reach out to us if you are interested in discussing the topic with us.