In the study entitled "Fast forward: Rethinking Enterprises, Ecosystems and Economies with Blockchains", the authors describe how blockchain technology can change business relationships. They come to the following conclusions:

• Blockchain technology reduces the complexity of economic processes.
• It can integrate all business partners and stakeholders in a common, transparent network.
• Blockchain technology does not require excessive IT and is also very efficient.
• It can be set up flexibly within a very short time.
• Blockchain technology helps to enable self-controlling cognitive networks, for example between sensors in the Internet of Things.

Blockchain technology, which offers a transparent and permanent record of all transactions, has the potential to overcome even stubborn market barriers. Transparency creates the basis for trust and thus becomes a springboard for the further development of ecosystems.

The authors of the study place blockchain technology alongside technological achievements such as trade routes, letter post, the telephone and the internet. They see three main frictional forces that hinder markets today: Incomplete or unavailable information, excessive costs or too much isolation in collaboration and excessive bureaucracy. Today, business transactions are stored in various accounts, each of which provides a snapshot at best. It is not clear what happened before and after or what role - partner, supplier, consumer - the parties involved played and when. In contrast, a single but distributed account, as made possible by blockchain technology, can be updated almost in real time and offers all participants insight into all relevant information based on their authorizations. This should make it possible to overcome all current market barriers.