Crypto: What’s it all about?
Exploring the concepts and possibilities of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies for a better future.
“Bitcoin gives us, for the first time, a way for one Internet user to transfer a unique piece of digital property to another Internet user, such that the transfer is guaranteed to be safe and secure, everyone knows that the transfer has taken place, and nobody can challenge the legitimacy of the transfer. The consequences of this breakthrough are hard to overstate.” — Marc Andreessen, American entrepreneur, co-founder of Netscape browser.
Most of the news we read today on the account of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, is about the money, prices skyrocketing and falling, and getting rich with trading. Oh, and don’t forget about the “hodlers”. Some say it’s similar to the hype of the internet in the 90s.
At the industry and business level, there is more focus on the news about the new technologies, regulations, institutional trading and investments.
“Blockchain is a vast, global distributed ledger where items of value can be moved, stored and managed securely and privately. I have never seen a technology that he thought had greater potential for humanity.” — Don Tapscott, Canadian business executive and author
IT’S ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY
Crypto world is more than just one coin or currency. It is not all about the bitcoin, or not even just about money and trading. Underlying the invention of bitcoin cryptocurrency there is a distributed ledger, called blockchain. The solution that puts high hopes in visionary businesses that aim to benefit from the decentralized technology.
This technology introduces new ways of looking at platform development, security, storing data, transparency, managing identity and other technical features. It also finally solves long researched problem of electronic cash — double spending without the need of a trusted authority or central server. Immutability brings the ability of writing data on a distributed ledger that can never be modified or deleted. Decentralized nodes support the network’s availability and resistance to attacks. Various cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies also focus on privacy, anonymity, payment processing, development, smart contracts and more.
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, even described Ethereum as ‘the world computer”. Ethereum platform enables developers to build Dapps (decentralized applications) on blockchain network.
Ethereum mission also states:
Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third-party interference.
IT’S ABOUT THE STARTUPS
2017 was a blast for ICO (Initial Coin Offering) startups, that were raising funds from contributors globally, unlike traditional VC paths startups use to gather funds for their business idea. Main focus was on (utility) tokens that can be used on the platforms, for transactions or access to the service. With regulators stepping in, and in case of US defining tokes as securities, ICOs stumbled upon new challenges. Heavy correction in cryptocurrency market made funding harder, also because lots of scams were (and still) going on in the ICO area. Those ICO projects who show promises, are delivering developing platforms, scaling, or are considering transferring utility tokens to securities.
One of the influencers in the blockchain world and Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood, is optimistic, saying: “ICO’s still have a while to run”, and believes ICO will still be a fundraising tool for crypto-related businesses in the future. He also notes “there’s going to be a lot of evolution for ICOs down the line.”
IT’S ABOUT WEB 3.0
The notion of a decentralized web is not a new idea. Original internet’s plan was even not to be centralized, but reality proved even best ideas can get very different implementations. In some ways internet is somehow decentralized, on technological side, like DNS (Domain Name System). But we’re not there yet, for now.
On a technological evolution of internet and perspective, web 1.0 was about early internet web pages, putting business on the web. Web 2.0 brought us social media and mobile was a winner here. Nearly every person in the developed world owns a smart phone, and this devices became our augmented reality.
“Mobile was Internet 2.0. It changed everything. Crypto is Internet 3.0.” — Gil Penchina
Web 3.0 might deliver the promises of the early internet, as they were intended. Focus on user’s privacy, ability to transfer value or communicate without the intermediary, really owning your money… With that kind of freedom of course comes responsibility, as you are for example responsible for your private keys to access the assets.
“Bitcoin promises to take at least some of that power away from governments and hand it to people. That alone augurs significant political, cultural, and economic clashes.” — Paul Vigna
IT’S ABOUT PRIVACY
The way internet has developed, it grew dangerously centralized, and with that, censored and aimed to take control from people’s assets. From having central banking bringing inflation with excessive printing of money, to big corporations, using our data and censoring news to influence our worldview perspective and even meddle with the elections (check Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal), user privacy got almost lost. Until now, that we have tools, like blockchain, in place. And if we are smart in developing the new internet, we just might get our privacy back, along with many new possibilities.
One of Bitcoin’s basic idea is also about owning your own assets, and transferring that assets without an intermediate, like banks or other institutions. Privacy means really having your data private and inaccessible from those who don’t have the permission to use the data. It means control and responsibility over your assets and your control only.
“Your keys — your Bitcoin; not your keys — not your Bitcoin.” — Andreas M. Antonopoulos
IT’S ABOUT CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Cryptocurrencies are live and ongoing projects, developed by people all over the world. They have different focuses, many of them are trying to follow basic propositions of web 3.0. They are also increasingly interesting way of investing, long-term savings and payments.
The ING International Survey Mobile Banking 2018 asked nearly 15,000 people across Europe, the USA and Australia what they think of the cryptocurrency opportunity. It aimed to “gain a better understanding of how people around the globe spend, save, invest and feel about money”. [They] define cryptocurrency, in part, as a kind of digital currency not created or secured by the government but by a network of individuals.
Positive attitude towards digital currencies like Bitcoin, are on the rise. Two thirds of surveyed in Europe have heard of the technology. Almost 10% indicate owning cryptocurrency, and 25% saying that they would expect to own cryptocurrency in the future.
Those who already use their smartphone, tablet or wearable to bank “on the go”, are more likely to say they have heard of cryptocurrency. It seems mobile banking might be one of the trend drivers when it comes to cryptocurrency adoption.
There’s also some room for improvement. Cryptocurrencies are still perceived rather risky, or riskier than shares, for 46% of the surveyed. Technology is still complex, hard to understand and not quite user friendly. “Design is the killer app for crypto”, as proposed in Coinbase blog.
“Bitcoin is the beginning of something great: a currency without a government, something necessary and imperative.” — Nassim Taleb
IT’S ABOUT THE FUTURE
American economist and Nobel Prize winner in Economic Sciences Milton Friedman even predicted the rise of digital currency in 1999, saying:
“I think that the Internet is going to be one of the major forces for reducing the role of government. The one thing that’s missing, but that will soon be developed, is a reliable e-cash.”
Although Bitcoin was invented later, in 2008, by Satoshi Nakamoto (he/she or a team of people), the idea, materialized in Bitcoin, is obviously a few decades old, and some even came close to inventing it, like Nick Szabo with his Bit Gold. The rest is history.
“With e-currency based on cryptographic proof, without the need to trust a third party middleman, money can be secure and transactions effortless.” — Satoshi Nakamoto
Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are here to stay. It might take some time to be widely adopted, like the internet, when it was laughed at in the 90s at first.
The blockchain is already finding it’s way into enterprise. With big global technological companies like SAP, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, Amazon and others looking for ways to deliver better customer service, blockchain technology development is in a full swing.
Companies like Goldman Sachs, exchanges like Coinbase and even NYSE aiming to make cryptocurrency safe for the retirement funds, institutional investors are also entering crypto, and regulators are researching and, although slowly, delivering guidelines and laws concerning digital currencies.
For the crypto community and philosophy behind crypto, bitcoin and blockchain, the future is viewed as a more free society, where privacy is a high value, and where exchange between people takes the path of direct communication, without government or institutional intermediary. Max Keiser even says that “Bitcoin is the currency of resistance”.
Looking at the development of these new technologies and amazing community worldwide, the future ahead of us seems exciting. And here, at Netis Group, we are developing the next steps on blockchain architecture, aiming to transform big blockchain ideas into a game-changing reality.
Over the long term, the future is decided by optimists. — Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of Wired magazine
To be a part of next generation networking, contact us and let us know how we can help your business!
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