Blockchain: the technology that could change the financial world

A blockchain and a cryptocurrency are not the same thing.

Think of a blockchain as a shared digital ledger that allows you to represent value digitally — this value can be money, a share, even a building — and move it around (i.e. transferring ownership) without needing a bank or a lawyer. That middleman is what typically makes transactions slow and expensive.

Furthermore, every transaction is recorded and visible — and no single person or company controls it. That shared, open record is what makes a blockchain different from a regular bank or app.

A simple example: imagine sending money to a family member in Zimbabwe. Right now, you’d need to go through an app, remittance service provider or a bank, get Reserve Bank approval, and pay exchange fees.

Using blockchain, you could convert your rands into a digital dollar (called a stablecoin — more on that below), send it to your family member’s digital wallet in minutes, for less than a dollar, from your phone.

Where do cryptocurrencies fit in?

Cryptocurrency is the native currency of a blockchain. In the same way the Rand (R) is South Africa’s native currency, Bitcoin (BTC) is the native currency of the Bitcoin Blockchain.

Cryptocurrency is also a type of digital money. Instead of physical cash or coins, it exists only as computer data on the internet.

Each public blockchain needs a cryptocurrency to run — think of it as a toll on a road. The more people use the road, the more the toll is worth. That’s one of the reasons why crypto prices go up and down.

Another major application is tokenisation. Much like plastic chips represent money in a casino, tokens can represent traditional assets – like money, shares, bonds, buildings and gold – digitally. Paper money is already represented on blockchains as stablecoins. Stablecoins are pegged to a traditional currency like the rand or the dollar, so their value doesn’t fluctuate wildly. In early 2026, a rand-backed stablecoin called Zaru was launched locally (currently limited to institutional investors).

In the same way, it is possible to represent a share of a company as a token on a blockchain. There, it can be traded faster, cheaper, and at any time of day. You can already buy tokenised shares in South Africa on digital asset investment platforms like Luno or Altify.

Decentralised what?

So, where does all of this – blockchain, stablecoins, tokenisation, etc. – take us?

This technology replicates the traditional financial system—including lending, borrowing, investing, and trading—without requiring banks or intermediaries. This is called decentralised finance, or DeFi, a financial system in which everyone transacts peer-to-peer. The transaction is automatically made safe by a piece of code called a smart contract.

For example, on a blockchain, you could lend your digital rands to a stranger on a platform and earn interest.

It’s a mouthful. But just as you don’t have to understand how the backend of the internet works to create a viral Facebook video, you do not need to understand the technology to understand how it could benefit society.

Blockchain has the potential to create a financial system where all transactions are cheap, quick and secure if you have access to data. This is a space worth watching.