Expert shortage hampers Japanese financials in blockchain race

Data issue: Banks hope to draw on blockchain's ability to share vast amounts of sensitive data securely and in real-time.

TOKYO: Japanese financial firms risk falling behind on the world stage as efforts to adopt blockchain technology that promises to save billions of dollars in backroom processing and revolutionise the finance industry are hamstrung by a dearth of specialists.

Banks, brokerages and insurers in global financial centres are investing in the computer code that underlies the bitcoin virtual currency. They hope to draw on its ability to share vast amounts of sensitive data securely and in real-time, and eliminate stages of transactions like third-party verification.