What’s next for blockchain?

Insights to drive adoption for blockchain and cryptocurrency

Photo by Andre Francois on Unsplash

Recently I saw a chart from Bloomberg that states that the total investment in cryptocurrencies so far is $0.3T. I think it looks good writing it as $0.3T than $300B. $0.3T makes it look like a promising field while $300B makes it look like it is already accomplished. Of course, Bloomberg wasn’t thinking that way. The reason why they had it $0.3T was because of the other fields listed and the total investment in them. The data goes thus: investments in gold totaled $6.0T, investment in farmland equals $26.0T, commercial real estate $29.0T, equities $55.0T, securitized debt $94.0T, residential real estate $162.0T. Just consider that. The interesting part of it is that all these other fields can (and honestly, will) be on the blockchain. It’s just a question of when these things will happen. People who are in their teens and twenties who are already into crypto are wisely positioned for the future.

However, we have the realities of today to deal with. There is the volatility which is the major scare for those who want to use cryptocurrency as a store of value. Many projects on blockchain are yet to pick up strongly. In fact, many are struggling with ground level problems that all serious startups face at the early years. Some are equipped for the challenge, some are just getting properly equipped. This could be a long haul but I think the delivery momentum should start kicking in towards the end of 2018. As veteran businessmen understands, it’s not about the group with the best idea, rather it’s about the group with the best execution strategy. Besides this, there are things that the blockchain sphere needs to gain more ground and become more mainstream. These are things that can change the game in the short term. They are:

1. Leadership

The blockchain world needs leadership and because the system is based on the concept of decentralization, the leadership has to be unlike the system that already exists in the world. A thought leader that all parties respect is really needed. And there can be more than one. This is not about someone who owns thousands of bitcoin but about someone who understands the thought and background principles of blockchain technology. It won’t be bad if the blockchain world elects a yearly blockchain president. Someone young, vibrant and knowledgeable to represent the blockchain world in events around the world.

The current leadership system in the blockchain space must be applauded however. Despite the animosity of the creator of bitcoin, the blockchain world has made significant progress. Some of the top people in the blockchain space who has done well include the CZ (CEO of Binance), Vitalik (Ethereum co-founder), Charlie (of Litecoin), and so on. Notwithstanding, the blockchain world needs a firm structure in leadership. The lack of clear pattern in leadership is what still holds a lot of people back from completely trusting the crypto ecosystem.

2. Education

The traditional education system will not work for the blockchain world. The world is going blockchain and one of the ways to move against the traditional finance system is to target the young ones. If those ones are learning crypto and are getting involved with it then it will be glaring for all to see that the future (i.e. the kids) has chosen blockchain. If just 50% of students in the world get to become active in the crypto world, it will be a clear sign for the holdouts in the traditional system to get in or get burned.

The importance of education cannot be overemphasized. Remember, the only way blockchain got this far is by enlightenment. So many fuds, misconceptions and misunderstandings had to be fought against to get to this point. But going forward, the education has to be organized and professional. There should be educational institutions and schools dedicated to blockchain. There should be professional courses, both free and paid to understand the blockchain space even more. No doubt some already exist, but there is need for (not just more but) better ones (with a better positioning in the world).

3. Landed properties

This is different from putting real estate on the blockchain. This is more about landed properties connected to the blockchain world. The more landed properties owned by businesses or persons connected to the blockchain world, the more adoption blockchain drives. Just look at the figure stated above; residential real estate is $162T, commercial real estate is $29.0T. The blockchain world should be taking the battle against the status quo to landed properties. When it becomes glaring that concepts from the blockchain world are taking up significant portions of land space, it becomes hard to call it insignificant.

4. Full ecosystem adoption

It is interesting that some blockchain companies don’t pay their workers in crypto. This is not good enough. If they don’t want to harm their employees because of price volatility, then let them at least pay a percentage of the workers salary in crypto. If you work in the system, you should also be rewarded in the system. We should be thinking about how a whole lifestyle can be built around crypto such that the need to change to a fiat currency is eliminated. Not that it hurts fiat currencies, but that everyone has a choice not to change to fiat at all. For now, it seems the change to fiat is a necessity at some point. Maybe someone should start a large store of household tools where a specific weight of items bought has a fixed price in bitcoin (or litecoin, or any coin).

5. Projects and companies

We have a lot of projects and companies already, but we need more. And we need more with more present-day use. The future is often overrated. We need projects that can directly solve a now problem. Projects that will start making profits in 6 months (and not out of trading). It seems the online wallets, exchange and mining operations (whether as equipment manufacturers or actual miners) are the most profitable for now. There is need for more areas to be profitable. The blockchain world already has a handful of talents in coding and business, but much more is needed. As you know, the project or company is only as good as the people involved in it.

Finally, it must be understood that the future will not make itself. People often ask, what does the future hold for me? But then the real question is, what do you hold for the future? I am on the side of crypto and I’m driving it forward (in my own way) in the area of education. I definitely plan to do more. If you are staking your money on the revolutionary invention, then you should be staking a value beyond money also. If you say you are heading to the moon, at least you should take yourself serious. Cheers!