Blockchain—possibly the buzziest of buzzwords in 2016. The world saw the rise of new enterprise blockchains, how the technology might be used to transport gold, to safely move perishable items like pork through a supply chain, and most importantly for those of us in the fintech trenches, we saw banks, payment providers and other financial institutions start to sit up and explore what blockchain could mean for money transfers, global trade, insurance, and identity.

Of course that’s not to say the technology didn’t have its pitfalls—hacks, hash fails and hampered code, oh my—but even so, this was a big year for blockchain.

So as 2016 draws to a close, let’s take a look below at the top blockchain stories on Bank Innovation.

1. KYC May Be the Next Big Thing for BlockchainNow that blockchain finally has the attention of FIs, what’s the next use case? Developing the tech for the KYC (Know Your Customer) Process is a good option, according to this post.
2. Deloitte Taps Blockchain Startups to Build New Core Banking System
   Five blockchain startups teamed up with accounting titan Deloitte to create a brand-new core banking system in May of this year.
3. Update: Santander Follows Goldman’s Lead, Drops from R3 Blockchain GroupAlong with a host of other banks Banco Santander chose to depart from the R3CEV blockchain consortium, though that did not appear to lessen the FI’s interest in the technology.
4. Goldman Sachs Leaves Blockchain Group R3CEV But Stays in BlockchainThe first big bank to leave R3CEV, Goldman’s decision came as a bit of a surprise—but like Santander, it dropped R3 but not blockchain.
5. Move Over Blockchain, It’s AI’s Time to ShineBlockchain may have had a good year, but so did artificial intelligence—however, the two may be best when combined.
6. Can Blockchain Fix Security and Identity, Consumer’s Top Concerns?Could blockchain help validate a user’s identity while keeping the transaction secure?
7. Rideshare Looks to Blockchain for Truly Decentralized Sharing EconomyBlockchain and ridesharing—two other things that might yield their best results when mixed a little.
8. What’s Next for Blockchain and Roboadvisory Funding?Roboadvisors and blockchain companies both received a fair amount of funding in 2016—this post explores what’s next.
9. Banks are Getting Closer to Real-life Blockchain Use CasesFIs became more and more intrigued with the technology as time went on, but we actually started to see more pilots and tests as the year progressed.
10. In Blockchain News: R3 Releases Corda, Chris Larsen Talks Ripple, IRS Might Tax Bitcoin
    And to think, all of the above only happened in one week.

What will happen with blockchain next year?