Disruption of financial intermediation by FinTech: a review on crowdfunding and blockchain

Abstract

Based on a systematic review of influential publications among 402 papers published between 2010 and 2018, this paper identifies gaps in Economics and Finance research regarding two applications of FinTech: crowdfunding and blockchain. Analysing these records shows that (i) current research on FinTech is fragmented with limited theoretical grounding; (ii) crowdfunding and blockchain can be regarded as two innovations that may disrupt traditional financial intermediation but in different ways; (iii) crowdfunding platforms substitute for traditional financial intermediaries and serve as a new intermediary, without eliminating the need for intermediation; (iv) similar to crowdfunding, blockchain also creates new intermediaries; and (v) the trust element inherent in blockchain enables blockchain to eliminate the need for intermediaries in some financial areas but not all.