If one of the latest reports by The Economist is to be believed, a major consequence of the pandemic would be the integration of data-enabled services into broader aspects of life. Contrary to popular opinion, digital transformation is more about people and less about technology. Buy as much technology as you can; the ability to adopt it would depend on developing the right skills, future-proofing your potential, and being open to learning new things.
Think about it – while we’re wired for simplicity, patterns, and routine, we end up learning less on jobs the more time we give them. It’s undoubtedly easier to do this job on autopilot mode and eventually free up headspace, but in the long run, it’s counterproductive since people would miss out on new opportunities as they gain more experience. With the pandemic, a lot of people might end up with better career paths - paths they never thought they wanted to explore. “Never waste a good crisis,” is what Winston Churchill once said, and the COVID-19 pandemic is turning out to be a crisis with many learnings, one of them being self-reliant.
Blockchain – Treading a Path For Self-Reliance?
Given that blockchain technology is suited to share, verify, and secure data, it’s ideal for handling cross-border, inter-party, and multi-level transactions. The last decade was a testimony to the will of enterprises wanting to embrace blockchain and, therefore, vetting the tech with hundreds of Proofs of Concept.
This is what the pandemic has made everyone realize – weakness in managing supply chains to difficulties in capturing the right amount of data, and the inability to allocate resources where we needed them the most. And, we have to thank people for repurposing blockchain development to help the world address these challenges efficiently. While the situation is more uncertain and ambivalent than ever, one of the strongest bets is on cryptocurrencies for transparency and advanced connectivity. It goes without saying that cryptocurrency proved its resilience during the pandemic, offering reliable and instant alternative methods to share and access resources without crumbling down due to a financial shortfall, powerplay, or centralized functioning.
The Post-Pandemic Situation
The loss of faith in conventional settings of banks and financial institutions necessitated the need for decentralized systems—now, the advent of more related technologies will become the lifeblood of the financial ecosystem (well, hopefully). Economically speaking, the world does not witness an event on the same scale as the COVID-19 pandemic very often, and this outbreak has caused every sector to reconfigure and self-examine itself. While the plummeting sales of oil had shockwaves creeping through the global economy, the cryptocurrency market was not an exception. And the world gasped in disbelief at the mere mention of cryptocurrency being a safe haven for financial transactions.
With the new deal among Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, prices of oil rose but nowhere near where they were before, and that’s where cryptocurrencies did the magic — a 50% decline at the outset of the pandemic rose to an all-time high in transactions, which meant more people entering the market. It became a trusted source for both trading and investment.
During the pandemic, crypto-based projects continued to grow. People are entering the market, and consequently, related projects are becoming more formidable. Reddit recently introduced an Ethereum Community Point system with around 2 million users. And it saw over 10,000 wallet-registrations in the initial stages of the program! While this says a lot about the success and continued growth of cryptocurrencies, the rest will be decided later on when the world redefines the economic and social norms. Till then, it’s safe to say that cryptocurrencies will stay.
Emerging From The Pandemic
There’s no denying that we’re agile and tech-driven as a global community. Human beings are and will be the common denominator to put any technology forward. Whether it’s unleashing the potential of cryptocurrency, blockchain, or remote working, the revolution will be led by the people. The key to emerging from the lockdown would be to nurture curiosity – and the rest would fall into its place.