Former CEO of Morgan Stanley: The Technology Behind Cryptocurrency Will Change the Financial System

Illustration of blockchain technology. (Photo; Doc. MarketWatch)

JAKARTA – The crypto winter that has taken place in recent months has encouraged investors and traders to secure their funds. Amid the uncertainty of the crypto market, the former CEO of banking giant Morgan Stanley stated that blockchain could revolutionize the monetary system used today.

John Mack is the former CEO of Morgan Stanley who recently made his remarks in an interview with CNBC's Squawk Box. He explained that in about 50 years monetary transactions and asset trading will take place digitally on the blockchain as life becomes increasingly reliant on computers.

However, he did not expect the current financial system to be abandoned. The reason is that switching to digital takes a long time because it is a dramatic shift in the financial system.

“I don't think [the financial system] will go away, but I think it's changing dramatically. Take crypto for example. For me, it's hard to understand why it has value," said John Mack.

Furthermore, Mack predicts 50 years from now digital assets will be used by many people. The reason is, transactions using digital assets are very easy, where users do not need to send money through banks. Users can send funds directly to the destination digital wallet. In addition to convenience, sending funds can also be done quickly, it doesn't take days, even though the recipient is in another part of the world.

“Fifty years from now, maybe [digital assets] will be a very big way to make monetary transactions. It's very easy to make transfers. You don't have to worry about putting it in the bank. Everything is on the computer. You have to make sure it's isolated, protected, and no one can break into it," added the former Morgan Stanley CEO.

"But 50 years from now, I think things will be more electronic and more and more driven by human-to-computer input on how to trade, how to take risks and make sure they don't overstep their limits," concludes Mack.

Therefore, the former Morgan Stanley executive admitted that he had invested in cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin. Mack said investments were made through startups, funding, and family companies.