Blockchain has the potential to be "transformative" for the exchange industry, the chief executives of some of the world's largest exchange operators told delegates attending the industry's annual gathering in Chicago.

Speaking at the FIA Futures and Options Expo in Chicago, an annual trade show for the futures industry, on November 4, Jeff Sprecher, president and chief executive of Intercontinental Exchange, said 2015 was the year that many bourses had "looked hard" at the potential uses of the technology that underpins bitcoin.