On-chain privacy and advances in identity management will be crucial to unlocking the potential of blockchain technology and asset tokenization in financial markets, according to a JPMorgan white paper.
Editorial
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JPMorgan is betting big on blockchain, recently renaming its blockchain unit Onyx to Kinexys as part of a move to bring the technology into traditional financial services.
However, in its white paper, the Wall Street giant recognizes that “enhanced privacy measures are essential to broaden access to the KDA (Kinexys Digital Assets) platform and expand its applications in the financial ecosystem”.
The paper concludes that while initial asset tokenization efforts can progress without comprehensive integrated privacy and identity solutions, large-scale institutional adoption requires both.
On-chain cryptographic privacy solutions promise stronger safeguards and openness than traditional off-chain (segregation-based) privacy approaches.
But, even if current implementations demonstrate that on-chain privacy is feasible at a modest scale, institutional adoption will require an exploration of intensive computing requirements, fundamental infrastructure adaptations, network cost considerations and lack of standardized integration models.
At the same time, the newspaper asserts, reusable digital identity promises operational transformation. However, its implementation must be commercially viable, that is, it must align with established trust frameworks and create compelling participation incentives for its adoption.