For Philipp Pieper, chief executive of Swarm Fund, the opportunities are based on the fact you can create new models around existing-use case that cannot be done otherwise.
He explains: "One of the reasons that makes using blockchain technology so enticing to large financial institutions is the very reason Bitcoin appealed to the early 'cypherpunks': by using a decentralised protocol and smart contracts that execute automatically, you do not have to trust the person on the other end to do the right thing."
A cypherpunk, for the purposes of education, is described by Wikipedia as: "Any activist advocating widespread use of strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies as a route to social and political change."
However, this very flexibility and imagination can work against cryptocurrency. Take, for example, the use of tokens or cryptocurrency to fund development through ICOs. Ms Ward says while this has been successful for some companies, it has also been "ripe for misuse".
Decentralisation
For Mr Pieper, another advantage is the way in which people have ownership of their own data and make their own choices. For example, Swarm Fund's platform is predicated on the ability of members to invest tokens into real assets, such as distressed real estate.
"The way in which our platform actually works is decided by the members who participate in it through liquid democracy voting. Since our system is decentralised, gaming that voting mechanism to a particular member's advantage would be extremely difficult."
Beyond this, Mr Pieper says, is the "realm of possibilities" that decentralisation can bring. "You can have new, meshed peer-to-peer networks, to the Internet of Things and even the ownership of one's own personal data.
"Beyond banking, it could apply to other applications, such as 23andMe, where individuals are currently giving the rights to their individual DNA sequence to a centralised company in order to find out more about their own ancestry.
"Wouldn't it be better to keep that data to yourself, and allow the analysts at the company to apply an algorithm remotely to the decentralised database that you alone have the key to?"
Getting into the crypto investment space
To help reduce the 'fear of the unknown' associated with cryptocurrency, some governments and companies have implemented ways to lessen the 'otherwordliness' of digital currency and give it a more legitimate public face.
For example, Russia, Sweden and Israel are among some countries cited by Ms Chovin who are thinking about issuing government-backed cryptocurrencies based on blockchain technology.
In January this year, FTAdviser reported the Bank of England had been considering launching a form of digital currency but has put this on the back burner for now, citing fears about the stability of the wider financial system.
