PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the “Big four” companies, has been consistently making efforts towards blockchain research. It announced the appointment of a new team comprising of 15 leading technology experts who will explore and commercialise blockchain. Also, it appointed Eris Industries, which builds software that allows anyone to develop their own secure, low-cost, run-anywhere applications using blockchain and smart contract technology, as strategic partner in its blockchain solutions portfolio. In addition, the company has also collaborated with blockchain-based startup company Blockstream, in a move to bring blockchain technology and services to companies around the world.

Now the company has announced that it has appointed Patrick Spens, the former regulator, hedge fund founder and city trader, to help consider the implications and possible applications for blockchain technology both in the financial services industry, and also to consider its wider potential and implications across all industry sectors, government and wider society.

According to PwC, the opportunities and challenges presented by blockchain go much beyond the widely accepted notion of disrupting business models within the financial services sector.

“Patrick will augment PwC’s existing financial services proposition for blockchain… PwC has hired Patrick to lead work on the opportunities and challenges blockchain presents for clients across all industries and sectors and, indeed, its potential to tackle major societal issues", the company said.

Patrick Spens, with 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, is a valuable addition to the company’s blockchain effort. He was the head of market monitoring at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and before that, he founded hedge fund Copenhagen Capital in 2005 and prior to that was Head of Equity and Alternative execution trading at Citigroup for EMEA.

As a member of the Whitechapel Think Tank steering group, Spens has played a lead role in a cross-industry and public sector forum convened to understand various aspects of distributed ledger technology, or blockchain.

“We anticipate growing demand from right across our client base for help understanding the implications and potential applications of blockchain, and Patrick is one of the UK’s leading blockchain experts. While still in its infancy, we see the potential for blockchain to disrupt and revolutionise the way organisations do things and want to be at the forefront of understanding the impact and applying this technology”, Michael Rendell, PwC’s transformation and innovation leader, said in a statement.