(a). Extremely high level of security. The way the blockchain is structured, distributed, accessed, and controlled makes the system incredibly difficult to hack.

Privacy. Users of a blockchain are identifiable only by their public key (digital signature). This means no personal identifying information could be obtained should the system be hacked.

Accuracy. Blockchain transactions are approved via a network of potentially millions of computers. Human involvement, and therefore human error, is virtually eliminated. Data in the blockchain is therefore extremely accurate and reliable.

Cost. Blockchain reduces overheads incurred by banks and therefore virtually removes transaction fees that would be passed on to the customer from the process.

Efficiency. Blockchain transactions, including international blockchain, are generally processed, approved, and completed within approximately ten minutes and are secure within an hour. Transactions made in a traditional banking system generally take between one and three days to achieve settlement; even longer if the transaction is international.

(b). Blockchain networks are susceptible to a form of cyber-attack known as “51% attacks.” In such an attack, a miner, or group of miners, attempt to gain majority control over the network by possessing more than 50% of the mining power, or hash rate, of the blockchain. Usually, invalid transactions in a data block would be rejected by the network as consensus that the block is legitimate will not be achieved. However, if a miner controls more than 50% of the hash rate, that miner could begin mining privately. This means that the blocks created by this miner would not be broadcast to the rest of the network. The malicious miner would have sufficient hash rate to achieve consensus over these blocks alone. The outcome is that the public blockchain continues to be followed by the rest of the network, while the malicious miner works on a private, non-broadcast blockchain. Such attacks are difficult to carry out; however, the risk of such attacks is increasing.

(c). Costs. The processes of validating transactions that will be carried out by a computer on the blockchain network will use huge amounts of computer power. The energy costs of joining a blockchain network are significant.

Illegal trading. The user confidentiality provided by blockchain makes it possible for the technology to be used to facilitate illegal trading.