Blockchain and fintech are inextricably linked. Distributed ledger technology (DLT) has been around for a long time, but blockchain was created in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto to serve as the infrastructure for the cryptocurrency bitcoin.

Blockchain's security, immutable transaction record, and near instant transaction speeds are all vast improvements on previous DLT technology. Because of why and how it was created, people have a hard time separating blockchain and cryptocurrency, specifically bitcoin. This is despite the myriad use cases for blockchain, both within and outside the financial services industry, other than cryptocurrency.