Are emerging platforms bridging the gap or breaching trust? Blockchain used to be associated with innovation and originality, with a thrill of doing something meaningful that no one has done before. However, this linkage starts to fade away as all the platforms are using the same template of ‘bridging the gap’. What once was an authentic aspiration of platforms is becoming a trend that now everyone follows. When we look at the websites and press releases of new ICOs and fintech platforms, we see the same template of phrase: “We are bridging the gap between centralized/traditional and decentralized finance/market.” Don’t get me wrong: the idea to bridge the gap is quite good, it is that good, indeed, that it was copied and took on a life of its own. Bridging the gap became a catch phrase, like ‘social responsibility’ — somebody meant it, now everyone says it, but nobody really knows what it means. Using the phrase to highlight the aspirations of the projects became seen as a race for the spot under the sun, and the instruments to build sand castles are taken from other participants on the way to the finish line. Actions of such players undermine efforts and intentions of credible actors who truly want to make an impact. Nonetheless, we need to remain critical. When you see a stone making ripples on the water, find the stone, don’t go chasing the ripples. The only way that the Blockchain industry can settle in a niche of trust and truth, and not simply unfulfilled aspirations, is if we are critical about originality of platforms’ intentions and the credibility that they entail. We need to learn about those who lead and to distinguish them from those who follow. Dubious platforms that copy unique features of others are not likely to succeed in an industry that is based on a trust protocol. However, it is responsibility of the crypto community to ensure that such projects will not stop other stunning ICOs and platforms with trustworthy ideas and original blockchain implementation — the pioneers that have contributed to the hype of bridging the gap. As for the emerging players, here is my advice to you. If you want to be successful in the blockchain industry: be daring and innovative, but above all, honest. Do not bridge the gap, rather break through a ceiling, or better, build your own path. After all, there are only so many gaps that you can bridge, after a while, you are simply stepping over a paddle. For example, , has been bridging the gap since March 2018, and now, we are bridging the last mile between the traditional finances and the future realities of the Blockchain. Let’s see how many more miles there are left to bridge. Ternion
