Blockchain is coming to financial services. Just how quickly it marches on financial services organzations and what, exactly, the technology brings is still up for debate, but it has the potential to facilitate faster, cheaper, safer and more transparent financial transactions. It could also means significant job losses for financial services jobs in the middle and back office.

A panel at a recent Trading Show in New York debated what it will mean for the financial services industry - here are some takeaways:

• Blockchain will strip out the need for cumbersome legacy systems.
• Blockchain could be used for illiquid markets.
• Blockchain means Big Data.
• Blockchain could hit custodians hardest.
• Blockchain will cut out the middle men.
• But it’s slow progress in financial services.

One of blockchain’s best features - that all counterparties involved in a particular transaction or smart contract have access to the distributed ledger - is ironically slowing its adoption among traditional financial services firms. And, their reluctance to embrace blockchain in some circles could actually preserve, or delay the demise of, certain at-risk jobs at traditional financial institutions and intermediaries.

In particular, Wall Street banks and B/D's don't not want their customers’ trading data to be publicly available. That said, Goldman, JPMorgan and BofAML, among others, are collaborating with blockchain startup R3, so the tide may be turning, especially given blockchain’s potential to bolster big banks’ cost-cutting initiatives.