The seminar presentation “Reconfiguring Trust in Centralized Systems: Evidence from Permissioned Blockchains in the Payment and Settlement Industry” by Kenneth See from the NUS FinTech Lab explores how blockchain technology changes the way trust is established within traditional financial systems. Although blockchain is often described as a “trustless” technology, the study highlights a paradox: permissioned blockchains used in regulated industries still depend on trusted institutions, governance structures, and collaboration among participants. The research examines how trust evolves rather than disappears when blockchain is introduced into payment and settlement systems.

The study uses a case study approach covering the period from 2016 to 2025, focusing on two areas: interbank settlement and securities trading and management. Before blockchain adoption, these industries relied heavily on intermediaries, fragmented systems, and institutional coordination. With blockchain adoption, financial institutions began experimenting with permissioned networks, tokenization of assets, cross-border settlement, and new forms of collaboration. The findings show that blockchain adoption requires alignment between technology, regulations, existing infrastructure, and industry stakeholders rather than simply replacing current systems.

The presentation concludes that blockchain should be understood as a socio-technical infrastructure where trust is reconfigured through governance, protocols, and shared standards. Successful adoption depends on mechanisms such as delegated trust through immutability, iterative alignment with existing processes, and risk management through cryptographic security and regulatory compliance. The research suggests that the future of blockchain in finance depends less on eliminating trust and more on creating new forms of collective trust among institutions, regulators, and technology providers.