Advisor response: Because bitcoin is not backed by any asset and is a purely speculative tool, its rise or fall also purely depends on how investors perceive its future. The volatility is justified, considering the basic characteristic of bitcoin. While any number quoted here will be purely a hunch, I believe the underlying technology has a lot to offer and seems promising at the least.

As the struggle to raise profitability continues, innovations like blockchain could offer investment banks a lifeline.

As with many new technologies, it’s generating much excitement. Some analysts have likened its disruptive potential to that of the Internet, with the power to drive dramatic efficiency gains, save $billions and substantially reduce risk. But there’s also a lot of hype.

So what tangible costs/benefits, business applications and ROI does blockchain really offer?

Over the past 12 months, the banking industry has seen more transformation than at any time in its history. While many of these changes were predicted by our crowdsourced panel of more than 90 industry influencers a year ago, few, if any, anticipated either the Brexit or the US election outcomes. Both events will have a yet unknown impact on the financial services industry, as regulations continue to evolve.

The influx of new fintech players, introduction of new technologies, and debate around authentication, security and cybercrime will challenge governments globally.

As we look to the year ahead, data, advanced analytics, personalization and improving the customer experience are at the forefront of many experts’ predictions. In fact, the impact of improved use of customer insight is the foundation of most of the trends in 2017.

Advisor response: Great question! Have you tried reaching out to a legal trade specialist within the network? This indeed would benefit from reaching out to an expert for a detailed consultation perhaps.

The global economy can expand into 2016, as long as financial stress does not rise further and emerging market countries avoid a major slowdown