Imagine a perfect world where every financial transaction has an electronic chain of proof of title and a history of all prior owners. This is the world of blockchain technology – a world that already exists for Bitcoin, and a concept with major implications for the financial world.

Fraud and negligence, and those inconvenient pieces of paper, have always created risk and nuisance for people engaged in financial transactions involving assets that require written evidence of the obligation. Knowing the source and history of the ownership of an asset helps ensure that the asset is viable and enforceable. Blockchain technology has the potential to greatly reduce that risk and considerably ease the process of transferring financial assets. Property owners and borrowers could identify with complete confidence the owners of their loans. The process of checking in collateral for secured loans or securitizations would be streamlined and simplified for custodians. The trading of securities issued in securitizations could also be enhanced with a reliable registry indicating all prior owners. Settlement timing and costs could be reduced