The chief executives of Wells Fargo and Mastercard are uncertain if blockchain is living up to its hype but remain positive that the technology will have long-term impact, according to CNBC.
Time Sloan, Wells Fargo CEO, and Ajaypal Banga, Mastercard CEO, expressed their concerns and thoughts on blockchain March 27 at the Fintech Ideas Festival.
"Blockchain has been way oversold," Mr. Sloan said at the conference. "I think the fundamental technology is very interesting, but it's been very slow to roll out."
Wells Fargo tested blockchain with Commonwealth Bank in Australia for trade transactions. But the decentralized ledger failed, only storing one transaction.
Mr. Banga's thoughts on blockchain are similar to Wells Fargo's chief executive.
"I think blockchain could be interesting, but the business model is not proven," he said. "A lot of this has to improve and change over time."
Mastercard continues to invest in blockchain. Mr. Banga said the technology has the potential to improve supply chains and impede the sale of counterfeit goods.
"There are interesting possibilities with blockchain, and to ignore that would be a bad idea," Mr. Banga told conference attendees. "We're just saying we don't know the business model yet."