Blockchain? My coin is dropping!
Why do we as non-techs need to understand Blockchain quickly?
We know now that technology is moving fast. Pots on Radio 1 on Digital Transformation: Who had ever thought? But in recent months, there have been technological steps in the relative margins of the Internet, which may put a lot of things into focus. I'm talking about Blockchain.
First a big note: I'm not techy. I can pretend to know the difference between NodeJS and PHP, but I really do not understand. I look at technology for what it means. And recently, it's beginning to get to me that the whole Blockchain story is a bit more than BitCoins, "virtual" coins and unquestionable tech geek-talk.
The tech-geeks kill me, but I'll make an effort to explain what Blockchain is, as non-tech. Blockchain is a kind of database technology, the engine behind BitCoin, for example. It is a decentralized verification system, whereby a global network of computers verifies and creates transactions according to a complex cryptographic code. Once verified it can no longer be changed. Never.
Sounds like Chinese? Remember one thing: "decentralized". It means that no central authority is required for transactions.
There are also other Blockchain versions. And a crucial one is Ethereum. What makes Ethereum different than BitCoin is that it is a platform on which applications can be built. Those applications can also use such a decentralized computer network and the associated cryptography. Ethereum also has a 'coin', Ether, which is the gasoline of the system.
Buying BitCoin is peanuts compared to understanding Ethereum
The strong point is that the platform, that network of computers, allows applications that go beyond digital coins. The Bitcoin blockchain does one thing: transfer bitcoin. But at Ethereum everything is possible: it is about "transactions" full stop. A crucial aspect of Ethereum is therefore Smart Contracts, programs to program and automate transactions. At least that`s what I think.
Example? In Brooklyn, smart residents have built an energy network with Smart Contracts of Ethereum. Energy from solar panels on one side of the street is being traded with the neighbors on the other side of the street. Again: without the central authority coming in between.
"Sounds all top, Gerrie. Just let them do the tech geeks", I hear your thinking. Well no, in recent weeks, I have felt that it is crucial for entrepreneurship, government or smart human tout court to get out of line and be active in this. And for these reasons.
FASTER THAN FAST!
The pace of new things happening in the blockchain world is enormously high. Ethereum as software is not yet a year old. My friends who have been busy for a while have been looking back a few weeks ago. After that, the DAO hub was launched.
A platform built on Ethereum, to fund and support projects. A kind of decentralized version of a Venture Capital fund. I think. Today.
Tomorrow I may get it better. But fact is: after a few weeks this is the largest crowdfunding project of all time and has collected more than 11 million Ether today. The Ether rate is currently fluctuating around 12 euros. These are no longer the margins of the internet.
PROFIT!
The Ethereum website states: "The Internet was supposed to work". Their mission is to build a freer internet that is reliable. There is a worldview attached. But at the same time it's also about profit, money making and business opportunities. That makes it so unique. At least that's what I think. For every Jef Colruyt who says he does not believe in e-commerce, smart entrepreneurs soon come across the heads to see how the transactions can "run in a supermarket" if you look at them through Blockchain glasses.
And those transactions are not limited to the Internet. Because Blockchain connects to the Internet of Things and you have another billion use cases. For example, at Slock.it - a bunch of leading thinkers and creators in the world - they work on a smart slot, which only ends when all Smart Contract Terms and Conditions have been met.
Take the AirBnb case. I rent an empty room to you. So if that lock knows you're paid and I am paid, it'll open. At the same time, it also triggers the financial transaction and - why not - books and pays the bill of the cleaning crew immediately if you go away again.
Crucially, there is also an incentive system in the core of Blockchain. It's technology and it needs hardware. Computer geeks that run the transaction software on their servers get a fee. That keeps the decentralized network running. Note: The fee is usually much lower than the 10% or what % AirBnb asks or the + 20% that Uber keeps from the amount their drivers get.
A REAL SHARING ECONOMY
Blockchain is a core technology. The word 'revolution' sometimes falls. Web 3.0 also.
And without being excited, I'm beginning to get a bit of a hug. The Internet was about dis-intermediation and the democratization of information etc. But what happened? There were centralized platforms that facilitated certain transactions on a large scale. AirBnb for accommodation. Facebook for communication. Uber for transport, ... For a price. These are great applications and I use them all. But the decentralized aspect of blockchain technology now allows those relationships between user and supplier, ie. The transaction and the value of it. The cost of a transaction becomes small. Validation and trust increases. An internet or transaction, internet or trust, internet or value: these are all terms I sometimes hear.
Example! Consensys is one of the companies that are building applications on the Ethereum framework. Ujo is such an application, "rebuilding the music industry". It not only makes the transaction between artist and music fan much directer; It also recalls the relationship between artist and guest musician, between artist and film producer-that-that-number-will-use, between artist and name, ... That does not make a Spotify.
Arcade City is another application that does blockchain-what Uber does: the demand for transport match with the offer. Only the value is divided differently. These are experiments and prototypes. But it is significant that AirBnb has already bought a blockchain startup because their business model of intermediary may be under pressure. The disruptors who are being disrupted? What's next? Because all that is a transaction, you can look back through a Blockchain spectacle. A brand like Nike who is going to pay a direct fee to people who watch their advertising messages? And what does the "driving license" concept still mean, a type example of a centralized validation and transaction? LEARN, UNLEARN, RELEARN.
Technology. Ethics. Profit. This is available on the website of daohub.org. And it's that mix that makes the matter so complex.
So hands up: Who has already tried to buy BitCoin or Ether and transfer his coins to another wallet? I fear that it stays awkward on the other side of this article. And that's a pity: 'That world' is about other concepts of wallets, transactions, security, and ... And you have to practice, get to know this new 'language', make mistakes, turn off, be totally confused. For honestly, buying BitCoin is peanuts compared to Ethereum. And then we do not even know about DAO, the concept of a Decentralized Autonomous Organization.
So we have to practice, because this story gets momentum.
Smart developers are now learning Solidity to build blockchains.
Smart investors have long known who Vitalik Buterin is (inventor of Ethereum, 22 years yes!). They looked at daohub.org in recent weeks and could decide whether to buy DAO tokens. And what do entrepreneurs do? From small startups to the Microsoft and IBMs of this world: they are building the blockchain thinking themselves. The question is: do they re-evaluate their value proposition and their added value in a fundamental way? Or are they going to copy blockchain technology to implement them behind closed doors, like banks are doing? And what about governments? Because in terms of transactions, validation and identity there is quite a bit of thought. In Honduras, they are the concept of land ownership to rebuild on the blockchain. Unicef's innovation unit is looking at blockchain to solve the problem of identity (eg refugees).
But the coins have also fallen closer to home. At the city of Antwerp, the innovation cell A-Labs works on an application to facilitate communities through blockchain. They call it Locals.world and even have their own 'currency', LocalCoin. In the blockchain chat communities I sometimes wander around, you have read the last few weeks like:
"I'm kind of dreaming of buying Tesla powerwall towers and put smart contracts on them!"
"We could invest in anything and collectively we'd be more informed than an individual to make good investment decisions."
If we, ordinary people, also want to participate in this tech-geek adventure, than we will have to make flying hours. Read, make, buy, do. It is up to us to understand and translate blockchain. So the discussion and learning process speeds up and the applications become clearer.
Ok, I start to understand and I dig deeper. Here is my growing list of Blockchain-related bookmarks.
