I have, of late, given a few talks on blockchain technology and the overwhelming response when presented with the ‘B’ word is either one of confusion mixed with unqualified and uninformed excitement or deep scepticism and suspicion.
Never before has a technology divided people to this extent.
Even if people do not understand what’s involved (and let us techies assume they don’t) we need to cut the chase and let people know how it will improve their lives.
Over the past weeks while fine tuning our BITCUB offering, I have been totally immersed in this technology, one minute looking at Byzantine Fault Tolerant algorithms and the next trying to understand the best Delegated Proof of Stake platforms for a particular application.
BENEFITS, BENEFITS, BENEFITS
Why do people get excited?
It’s usually down to three things:-
- Making money
- Saving money
- Being more efficient with time
With our customers in credit unions we have exactly the same objectives. We want people to earn reasonable interest on their savings, save money on fees and overheads and allow them to manage their finances with less friction and more speed allowing them to make the most of their valuable time.
So can blockchain do this?
The short answer is …some can and others cannot.
Well with a distributed network and no middle men you can provide ‘in theory’ provide quick cheap payments. But what about security and transferring them to a ‘spendable’ currency at the receiving end? Does Bitcoin trump Swirlds and Stellar from a security perspective?
If I want to provide a smart contract loan application what platform should I use? Do I choose Ethereum, Nano, Cardano, or Eos?
With so many variables to contend with coupled with a rapidly changing blockchain eco system it is a major job to keep up with the best technology for each application.
For this reason I feel Artificial Intelligence will pay a major role is sorting the blockchain wheat from the chaff.
Neural Networks and Deep learning will help to make for a better ecosystem. Performance is a great leveller and if one of these options do not perform they should never be considered for these crucial operations until ready and proven.
My talk in Brussels on the 1st of June will cover this is more detail.
In the meantime don’t be confused and don’t be fearful. Blockchain technology is here to stay we just need to find the best ways to consume it and give us the biggest possible returns.