The big question when it comes to blockchain and cryptocurrencies is how far will they go? Will they become the main alternative to stocks and bonds? Will they become the alternative to state-based monopoly money? Will they basically sweep the board clean and reset how people trade and save?
No one knows at this point and just as importantly, the ones who might be in a position to know, sooner or later, are not talking about it. Some say up to 90 percent of banks now have hush-hush blockchain projects. And IBM, which has been very active in the field, now reportedly has 1,000 employees and consultants working on various blockchain projects and has invested $200 million.
What exactly is blockchain? At its most basic level, it is an advanced spreadsheet replicated thousands of times across computers around the world. This network updates the journal of spreadsheets at regular intervals and people can continue to generate transactions that are verified by the network.
Information codified this way ensures the database isn’t backed up at just one location but is available at hundreds and thousands of locations and thus is easily verifiable. Yet hackers cannot corrupt such a database with this distributed ledger technology.
This automatically instills trust in the system. People eventually could do without many of the traditional elements of third party verification, including perhaps contract lawyers, certain brokers and other kinds of intermediaries.
Of course, this takes blockchain to its ultimate, logical conclusion, and few in these fields believe that blockchain and associated methodologies will arrive at such logical conclusions in the very near future.
For now, the extent of blockchain’s impact is not yet fully identifiable, but Jason Bloomberg who writes and consults on digital transformation in the enterprise says that blockchain is an increasingly viable and energetic ledger system with numerous potentialities.
Blockchain by itself could create major social changes, but blockchain does not stand alone. It is supported—and supports—various cryptocurrencies and ethereum, created by a 22-year-old Russian wizard, and funded for millions. It can support a variety of alternatives in all industries.
Bitcoin is now among many platforms including ethereum, which is one reason why over the long haul some people believe bitcoin’s staying power is potentially constrained. Being so versatile, many are choosing ethereum for innovative solutions.
By helping to structure payments between individuals and groups, blockchain truly decentralizes sharing. You can downloads apps that allow you to transact with other companies without transaction fees and various trust measures, However, because of the possibility of outright criminality, personal reputation will become increasingly important.