The Seeds of Blockchain

The beginning of the next big change has begun.

The adoption of cryptocurrency? Perhaps. In part.

The use of blockchain? Definitely.

Blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and the foundational technologies that comprise these technological icons of recent times has officially moved from the relatively obscure to the relative forefront. At this point, common sense would dictate that almost anyone has heard of some form of cryptocurrency. Most likely the most well known of all. . . Bitcoin.

Though not everyone may understand the details of how these currencies work or even how to use them, the general knowledge of their existence is now widespread. Though that knowledge has not led yet to the utopian dreams of many early adopters and purists of the ideals of cryptocurrency. Primarily, that of a decentralized currency that cuts out the use of and trust in the middleman of banks, governments, credit unions, the Federal Reserve, and other similar entities that control the use of currencies of modern day. The overall idea being that modern day systems of currency usage and traffic are slow, flawed, and at the very least. . . not trustworthy. The answer of cryptocurrency gave the hope to some individuals that the middleman of those entities could be removed and that we all would regain the power to control our own money at the root level. Thus increasing speed and security at the same time.

A pure ideal indeed. Realistic? Perhaps. Perhaps not. The future holds many secrets. All will be revealed in time.

But for now, a different story unfolds. . .

As for cryptocurrency, those that held the pure dream of a decentralized currency for all may have to wait a little longer as that dream has now been "corrupted" (one could say). The very ones that were meant to be avoided have seen the potential of the system. Perhaps not very surprisingly, those that have the closest ties to money were some of the very first to accept the concept of a new and profitable system. After all, they are in the business of making money. Whatever leads to profits, will be of use. Bitcoin had its merits. Mainstream use trickled and floundered for years. Those with ties to big money (i.e. banks and large money institutions) looked into the system as well, but the system itself was still too slow to cope with the hyper speed that was needed for mass transactions. With the rise of Ripple, xCurrent, and eventually the xRapid system in 2013, the "big boys" that were watching were introduced to a different kind of system. A fast one. A definite contender to compete with (or work with in the case of xCurrent) the Swift network. And perhaps even more appealing to many, one that wasn't decentralized. Rather, this crypto was tailor made for banks and international trade. Speed, reliability, and centralization (though increasingly decentralized in its own way). Good news for the power players. Blockchain technology could indeed be implemented for the profit of the current "big boys" in money and power.

With all that, the revolution in power structures still did not happen. Albeit, a revolution in interest in new technology began.

With time and development, Ripple gained traction with such companies as American Express, MoneyGram, Santander, IFX, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, and many others. Successes with landing accounts with such companies as well as other still to-be-revealed "household names" led to a surge in interest in the tech (at the very least in the public sector). Further, Brad Garlinghouse, a CEO at Ripple, tweeted that discussions with actual big banks revealed that many small to medium sized banks would jump at the speed and low fees of the xRapid system. Thus, Ripple appeared to have a foot in the door with a few of the big money movers in world.

Joining Ripple on the horizons were others looking into the possibilities with blockchains. In 2015, the entities at Ripple entered into a contract (much to be regretted after a long and bitter lawsuit later) with another "little" band of would-be world changers. Otherwise known as R3, an enterprise of software engineers got the backing of some very big names in banking and money such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, and Santander in order to create a distribution ledger named Corda (not a blockchain by definition). Some would say that R3 attempted to hijack Ripple's tech. Some would disagree. Either way, the system created by R3 demonstrated further proof that this new technology could be of use.

Eventually Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, and Santander bailed on R3. To another blockchain perhaps?

Soon came the news that Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, and many others have gathered together to create a new framework alongside the Ethereum network (although any blockchain system could be substituted). The framework is called the Coco network. The quick and loose explanation is that it is a separate network that different parties join. Once joined, purchase orders, sending payments, receiving paid orders, and so on can all be accepted through the Coco framework. Ethereum (or any other crypto) would be the underpinning payment system that the framework implements. Thus, the added factor of confidentiality is added since transaction information is mediated by the Coco framework. Thus creating a far more amiable environment for the big players.

One of the main complaints against systems like Ethereum and other ledger (blockchain) systems was that they did not provide the much needed confidentiality that many big businesses need for their transactions. The Coco framework offers that confidentiality while also benefiting from the speed and security of Ethereum as well as other cryptos that can be used as the payment medium.

The world of big money saw the potential in blockchains. Not as a source of universal currency that the early purists and believers in Bitcoin envisioned. Rather, as an expedited source of transaction. In essence, the universal edged toward the specific. The technology behind blockchain moved in the direction of solving a specific need. The need for speed. Speed with security and confidentiality ideally.

But at the same time, others saw the problems that could be solved by cryptocurrency and blockchain tech. Again, specific problems that could be solved.

IOTA, with its blockchain derivative (a blockless chain specifically) called the Tangle, has seen promise from its technology. A simple explanation of its system is that of tracking digital information sent from all kinds of devises. That information, tracked and recorded in the Tangle, can then be studied, analyzed, monetized, and so forth. All this for no fees for transactions. Of course the use of the IOTA crypto would be necessary for the use of the system. Proof positive of the real world application came when the Taiwanese government approached IOTA in order to work out a deal in which IOTA would lend its technology to the government for TangleID and various other uses (including preventing fraud).

The Storiqa platform aims to solve the problem of advertising and selling internationally. Something that would normally be rather out of reach for the common person. Through the use of the STQ token and a shopping platform for the world, they aim to open up the markets of the world to everyday people. A sort of Amazon, eBay, and Etsy store all rolled into one while giving access to worldwide clients and stores.

These are but a few of the examples we could observe. But in the end, what we begin to see from all of this is an emergence of a new technology that promises to disrupt, evolve, and revolutionize particular aspects of the world. The universal solution to a new currency may not have occurred yet. But we see the seeds of that very technology sprouting within various corners of our world. What will those seeds grown into? We will have to see.

Time will tell.

As always this is intended for informational purposes only. This is not investment advise or anything else. This is simply an examination of happenings and occurrences in the world of cryptocurrency as viewed by the author.