Financial interactions on the capital market involve a wide variety of actors and processes. The requirement of security and privacy results to a large extent in non-shared and unintegrated databases among the different parties, leading to complex, time consuming and costly procedures. The last decade's introduction of innovative blockchain technologies such as Bitcoin, has brought attention to the possibilities of decentralized peer-to-peer networking in general, and its potential influence in the financial sector in particular. This master thesis investigates the possibilities for the capital market to adapt such a system from a technical point of view, with main focus on scalability. The analysis covers crucial aspects such as a peer-to-peer application's ability to handle large transaction volumes while maintaining security. The degree project also includes continued work on Visigon's blockchain application prototype with main focus on the network communication, as well as simulations of its performance capability. Results from the simulations showed that the transaction throughput capacity is limited to the time of broadcasting the transaction to the network, and thus decreasing linearly with increasing network size. The required time for handling other parts in the process appears constant and takes up a small fraction of the total time, therefore future work lays in further optimization of the communication protocol.

In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, Bitcoin emerged as a radical new alternative to the fiat currencies of the traditional banking sector. Through the use of a novel kind of probabilistic consensus algorithm, Bitcoin proved it possible to guarantee the integrity of a digital currency by relying on network majority votes instead of trusted institutions. By showing that it was technically feasible to, at least to some extent, replace the entire banking sector with computers, many significant actors started asking what else this new technology could help automate. A subsequent, seemingly inevitable, wave of efforts produced a multitude of new distributed ledger systems, architectures and applications, all somehow attempting to leverage distributed consensus algorithms to replace trusted intermediaries, facilitating value ownership, transfer and regulation. In this thesis, we scrutinize distributed ledger technologies in terms of how they could help facilitate the digitization of contractual cooperation, especially in the context of the supply chain and manufacturing industries. Concretely, we consider them from three distinct technical perspectives, (1) performance, (2) interoperability and (3) integration. Voting systems, with or without probabilistic mechanisms, require significant time and resources to operate, for which reason it becomes relevant to investigate how the costs of running those systems can be mitigated. In particular, we consider how a blockchain, a form of distributed ledger, can be pruned to in order to reduce disk space requirements. Furthermore, no technical system part of a larger business is an island, but will have to be able to interoperate with other systems to maximize the opportunity for automation. For this reason, we also consider how transparent message translation between systems could be facilitated, as well as presenting a formalism for expressing the syntactic structure of message payloads. Finally, we propose a concrete architecture, the Exchange Network, that models contractual interactions as negotiations about token exchanges rather than as function invocations and state machine transitions, which we argue lowers the barrier to compatibility with conventional legal and business practices. Even if no more trusted institutions could be replaced by any forthcoming distributed ledger technologies, we believe contractual interactions becoming more digital would lead to an increased opportunity for using computers to monitor, assist or even directly participate in the negotiation, management and tracking of business agreements, which we see as more than enough to warrant the cost of further developing of the technology. Such computer involvement may not just save time and reduce costs, but could also enable new kinds of computer-driven economies. In the long run, this may enable new levels of resource optimization, and not just within large organizations, but also smaller companies, or even the homes of families and individuals.

This thesis examines how Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) could be utilized in capital markets in general and in the Nordic capital market in particular. DLTs were introduced with the so called cryptocurrency Bitcoin in 2009 and has in the last few years been of interest to various financial institutions as a means to streamline financial processes. By combining computer scientific concepts such as public-key cryptography and consensus algorithms DLTs make it possible to keep shared databases with limited trust among the participators and without the use of a trusted third party. In this thesis various actors on the Nordic capital market were interviewed and their stance on DLTs were summarized. In addition to this a Proof of Concept of a permissioned DLT application for ownership registration of securities was constructed. It was found that all the interviewees were generally optimistic about DLTs potential to increase the efficiency of capital markets. The technology needs to be adopted to handle the capital markets demand for privacy and large transaction volumes, but there is a general agreement among the interviewees that these issues will be solved. The biggest challenge for an adoption of DLTs seem to lie in that of finding a common industry-wide standard.

The financial services sector is riddled with efficiency challenges and high costs resulting from the use of legacy financial systems. A solution for these challenges exists in the form of blockchain technology. However, adoption of blockchain in the financial services sector remains a challenge for several reasons. Key to this is the fact that the technology is still new, and there is a lack of clear information on how management of financial institutions can configure their organisations to prepare them for the adoption of the new technology. By investigating the technological aspects of blockchain technology; the organisational preparedness for adoption; and the environmental dynamics of financial services; this paper presents a framework for organisational adoption of blockchain technology. This framework will assist organisations to first reconfigure themselves to prepare for technological adoption; and second, align themselves to the requirements of adoption of blockchain technology. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with experts in the global financial services sector, it was found that there is a methodological approach to the adoption of blockchain technology. Blockchain advocates within organisations will be able to conduct an internal introspection into efficiency challenges they face, learn about blockchain technology, build a business case for adoption, reconfigure the organisation, align the organisation, and adopt blockchain to accord the organisation the necessary efficiencies. / Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

Today's paper-based system regarding share certificates has long been considered obsolete in relation to the technical development that characterizes an otherwise digital market. Especially in relation to the inconveniences the system is associated with for limited liability companies, as well as for the shareholders.  Despite it being a known fact, no changes have been made in cases where amendments to the law have been discussed through official government reports. The solutions presented in the reports have been either an implementation of a share register or an extended function of the share ledger, both requiring the abolishment of share certificates. The opinion yet remained that the positive aspects of the paper-based share certificate system overweighed the negative ones due to technological shortcomings. However, in light of recent development in modern technology, a solution might be found in blockchain technology. The overall question of this thesis is thus to what extent the paper-based system raises problems and whether satisfactory solutions can be found in new technology. In order to present effective and competitive solutions, the thesis looks beyond the national boarders, towards foreign judicial system to find alternative ways of handling the issue of share certificates. Through the international perspective, blockchain technology is presented as a potential solution. In order to assess its compatibility with the Swedish judicial system a short introduction is made regarding the underlying technology. This also helps create an understanding of its pioneering nature. The technical introduction is then followed by a theoretical application of a blockchain-based solution for handling the share certificates as well as the share ledger. This leads to the conclusion that a potential solution is found in blockchain technology which, combined with the overall assessment of the negative aspects of a paper-based system, advocates for a reform.

No description available.

A great challenge for democracy is to account for the conflict between the ideal of self-governance and the capacity of the average person to participate in democratic decision-making. This challenge has led some observers to question the defensibility of democracy and consider other systems of social organization. I argue instead that the problem can be solved with a technologically enhanced version of Thomas Christiano’s choice of aims model of democracy. I begin by setting up the voter competency problem: I describe the ideals of democracy and the role that is ascribed to citizens under traditional accounts of democracy, then proceed to a discussion of the empirical evidence that shows how unlikely it is that voters could ever adequately perform such a role. While I consider a number of alternative democratic models which attempt to reconstruct the role of citizens in a way that is consistent with their capacities and with the democratic ideal of self-governance, I find that the choice of aims model strikes this balance in a way that is most tenable. Despite this, I argue that changes to the way information is distributed in modern democracies, to do with the rise of the internet, pose a serious threat to the viability of even this model, as it is becoming increasingly difficult for voters to ascertain reliable information. The second half of the thesis offers support to Christiano’s model in the form of technologically enhanced institutions. Chapter 3 provides a basic understanding of an emerging technology called distributed ledger technology, which offers a new paradigm for how information is stored, controlled, and distributed around society. The final chapter demonstrates how this technology can be used to strengthen democratic institutions so that citizens are able to truly be said to self-govern in a way that is consistent with their capacities. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

The adoption of blockchain technologies require the consideration of a broad range of factors, over and above the predominantly technology focus of most current work. Whilst scholarly literature on blockchain technology is only beginning to emerge, majority are focused on the technicalities of the technology and tend to ignore the organizational complexities of adopting the technology. Drawing from a focused review of literature, this paper proposed a conceptual framework for adoption of blockchain technology capturing the complex relationships between institutional, market and technical factors. The framework highlights that varying outcomes are possible, and the change process is focal as this shapes the form blockchain applications take. Factors presented in the framework (institutional, market and technical) interact and mutually influence each other. The proposed framework can be used by organisations as a reference point for adopting blockchain applications and by scholars to expand, refine and evaluate research into blockchain technology.

B-SPORT+ är ett projekt som var intresserat av att utveckla en applikation för tips och vägledning inom fysisk träning anpassad till personer med funktionsnedsättningar. B-SPORT+ identifieradebehovet av en decentraliserad ledger i applikationen. En ledger innebär en digital huvudbok som lagrar data över transaktioner utförda i en applikation. I ett tidigare arbete lyftes Blockkedja fram som en möjlig lösning för applikationen. B-SPORT+ upplevde dock att denna teknik innehöll nackdelar som hög energiförbrukning och dyr implementation. Därför skulle detta arbete undersöka,utveckla och utvärdera ett alternativ till Blockkedja med hjälp av relationsdatabaser. Resultatet blev två prototyper. Den första prototypen efterliknade Blockkedja-teknik genom att horisontellt fragmentera en relationsdatabas som innehöll en tabell för utförda transaktioner. Sedan användes hasning för att validera transaktioner mellan databas fragment. Det utvecklades även en prototyp med hjälp av Blockkedja-teknik, denna prototyp användes för att utvärdera den första prototypen. Utvärderingen visade att SQL-prototypens struktur minskade minnesutnyttjandet i användardatorer samt minskade den transaktioners energikonsumtionen och tid. Denna struktur tillät även moderering utav data i ledgern vilket var vitalt för den applikation B-SPORT+ ville utveckla / B-SPORT+ is a project that was interested in developing an application for advice and guidance in regards to physical exercise adapted for people with disabilities. B-SPORT+ identified the need for a decentralized ledger in the application. A decentralized ledger is a register that stores data on transactions performed in an application. In previous work on the application, a Blockchain was highlighted as a possible solution. However, B-SPORT+ experienced that this technology contained disadvantages such as high energy consumption and expensive implementation. Therefore, this work investigated, developed and evaluated an alternative to Blockchain using relational databases. The result was two prototypes. The first prototype mimicked Blockchain technology by horizontally fragmenting a relational database that stored a table of performed transactions. Then, cryptographic hashing was used to validate transactions between database fragments. A prototype was also developed using Blockchain technology, this prototype was used to evaluate the first prototype. The evaluation showed that the structure of the SQL prototype reduced memory utilization in user computers it also reduced energy consumption and time when performing transactions. This structure also allowed moderation of data in the ledger, which was vital for the application BSPORT + wanted to develop.

Uppsatsen tar upp blockchain-teknologin och undersöker om den kan användas vid hantering av patientjournaler i ett svenskt patientjournalsystem. Genom att kombinera en genomförbarhetsstudie och SWOT-analys har tre aspekter; tekniska, legala och organisatoriska undersökts med hjälp av perspektiven från SWOT. De tekniska, legala och organisatoriska aspekterna berör viktiga faktorer och frågor som bör uppfyllas för ett projekt ska anses genomförbart. Uppsatsen är en explorativ fallstudie med dokumentanalys som metod. Primärt har akademisk litteratur samt lagar och författningar undersökts och analyserats. Med hjälp av informationen från insamlade dokument analyseras och diskuteras innehållet utifrån teknisk, legal genomförbarhet och organisatorisk genomförbarhet. Den tekniska samt legala aspekten antyder att blockchain i dess nuvarande form inte är genomförbart för att användas som stöd i svenskt patientjournalsystem. Emellertid har en hög genomförbarhet identifierats inom den organisatoriska aspekten. / This paper examines whether blockchain-technology can be used to assist an EHR system (electronic health records) in Sweden. By combining a feasibility study and SWOT-analysis, three major aspects; technical, legal and organizational, have been examined with help from the perspectives in SWOT. The aspects cover key factors and questions which ought to be fulfilled for a project to be considered feasible. An exploratory case study has been conducted combined with the method of document analysis. The documents have primarily consisted of academic literature and law acts and constitutions such as GDPR. The feasibility aspects have been analysed and discussed with the help of found literature. The technical and legal aspects suggest that the use of blockchain in its current shape and form is not feasible in assisting an EHR system. However, within the organizational aspect, a high level of feasibility has been concluded