Blockchain offers innovation and opportunities for advancement, but are we using it in the best way?
There are several new technologies around Blockchain, and most are still very early on in development. It can be hard to sort through what is actually creating value and what is just noise. For those of us who recall the tech boom of the 2000’s, we know that getting swept up in hype is very easy. These new ideas around Blockchain provide innovation and disruption, but many are similar to an early 2000 dot com – more flash than substance. Here are just a couple for you to consider ditching before the party is over and you’re the only one wearing a hat.
Decentralized currency
Yes, this is a hard one for many of us to believe, but it is true. The model of a decentralized currency just doesn’t work – for now. Those of you hard core Hodlers are probably convinced that your most recent investment in one of the 14,000 Blockchain backed cryptos is set to Moon, but the harsh reality is that cryptocurrency is just not viable right now. The majority of cryptocurrency is managed by large exchanges that charge money to list coins – limiting the ability for a new cryptocurrency to flow freely through the market. These exchanges play a similar role to that of a bank, completely stopping the proposed ‘de-centralization’ value proposition of crypto. Until the ability to invest into crypto without a third party application/website and until users can exchange the money into other assets exists – cryptos are no different than any other fiat currency.
Community
Adam Smith would have a heyday examining the repercussions of this new, ‘share-and-share-alike’ Blockchain market. Many truly believe that people are able to set aside their own best interest and work solely on building a ‘community’. This community is supposed to help a greater good with access to capital. Unfortunately, this model doesn’t hold up and it has actually moved wealth into the hands of a select few. More of the early stage ICO mavens have been able to control the market through coordinated trades and investing. The little guys seem behind the curve-despite communicating on secret chats using Telegram and Discord. So for anyone involved to support a ‘community’ – the end is near. These not only lack the ability to provide a level playing field for all people involved, they rarely live up to the promise of sharing the wealth.
Forking
If you haven’t already been hit with the fork bug…consider yourself lucky. This illness has taken an already diseased crypto market and sent it into a tailspin with misinformation. It is now harder than ever to identify the original intent of anything – an example is Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin Private. Bitcoin was ‘forked’ by creating another replica of itself with a different name. This allowed the creation of a Bitcoin ‘clone’ with more security and privacy than regular Bitcoin. Advocates for security and privacy loved it, and rushed in to purchase the newly minted crypto. But marketing proved to be a challenge for the team, and led to confusion for the masses – is this the new coin Bitcoin or not? The Bitcoin Private fork has resulted in lost investment for many supporters. And because many of the planned strategies for using a ‘privacy’ coin have not transpired – the evidence proves that when a technology like Bitcoin still isn’t understood by 90% of the population – if it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.
Want to learn about how to effectively use Blockchain technology in your organization? We want to hear from you: info@thenextstep.agency.
Eric Walker, CEO & Founder, The Next Step Agency Business guy who teaches creative entrepreneurs how to shake off uncertainty and make strategic decisions that transform their ideas into thriving businesses.
