UBS Group CEO Sergio Ermotti is not a fan of cryptocurrencies. However, he said that blockchains could be used to reduce costs in the financial services industry and noted that it could help in improving gross margins.

In a Monday interview, Ermotti stated that he believes in the potential use of distributed ledgers could help companies garner profits in the next decade.

Ermotti focused on the benefits of using blockchains and said it is “definitely an opportunity” in the long run. Talking to CNBC, he further stated:

“It’s almost a must. The freeing up of resources to become more efficient will come through technology and blockchain is a great way to allow us to … reduce costs.”

Ermotti detailed his views on the industry suggesting that gross margins will continue to be under pressure. The only way a company could sustain under current circumstances is by having stronger capital input, a good product offering, quality people onboard and correctly priced offerings.

UBS is currently working on Batavia, which is a blockchain-based global trade finance platform, with IBM and some prominent banks. Ermotti noted that cost base transformation would not happen in the industry very soon. However, he said that distributed ledger technology would be disruptive in the next five to ten years.

The UBS Group does not want to ride the crypto wave yet. In an October 2017 interview, Ermotti said that the digital currencies still need to be defined and he is not necessarily a fan of the borderless and decentralized monetary system.

At the time, he focused on the company’s vision of using blockchain technology to reshape the financial services industry. Ermotti also stated that distributed ledgers would eventually allow financial institutions to “operate and transact at a cheaper, more efficient level.”

Around the same time, the UBS Group published a whitepaper in which it called Bitcoin a “speculative bubble.” The coin was trading with a 470 percent return year-to-date. The bank remained unamused with the numbers and said that it is “highly doubtful” that these coins will become mainstream currencies.

In a note, UBS detailed how the need to pay taxes in government-backed fiat currency will keep crypto adoption low. It also cited the unlimited supply of crypto coins as one of the reasons behind its inability to crack into the mainstream.

The post UBS CEO Claims Blockchain Is an Opportunity for Businesses appeared first on [blokt] - Blockchain, Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

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