There’s been a fair amount of lip service being paid to Bitcoin these days by companies that comprise the current financial establishment. Much of this has to do with blockchain, which is the underlying infrastructure of this digital currency.
Why Are U.S.-Based Financial Companies Investing in Blockchain Technology?
One of the features that blockchain technology offers is a method to create more efficient networks to process financial transactions. Many U.S.-based companies are seeking out ways to streamline their current work processes, so they invest in blockchain technology as a way to boost their bottom line. Examples include the efforts of groups such as the R3 Consortium, and the adoption of robust blockchain resources by new companies like Bloq, as well as by “old guard” companies like IBM. The sold-out “Consensus 2016: Making Blockchain Real” conference in New York City was notable for its many big-name speakers. They came from both inside (Gavin Andresen, Vitalik Buterin) and outside (Larry Summers, Delaware’s Governor Jack Markell) the Bitcoin world. It was clear that the amount of “suits” at this event signaled a major shift from the early days of Bitcoin and blockchain culture that drew technology-oriented crowds rather than investors.
What Exactly Is Blockchain Technology?
At this point, the blockchain is two things. The first meaning of the word refers to a currently operating and open distributed network that is processing Bitcoin transactions worldwide. Bitcoin also refers to a concept that can be used by any company to build its applications. Many companies of all sizes became aware of the efficiencies that come along with blockchain technology, and now they want to use this concept to power their current systems. The good news is that, thanks to the tools and resources being created by firms like Circle, Bloq, Gem, and Factom, non-technology companies will be able to harness the concept of blockchain for their own uses. The question that remains is whether these applications will truly disrupt the current standards or whether they will merely shift things around. Simply laying a blockchain model beneath a financial system that needs drastic changes is not real change. When you see large firms like J.P. Morgan embracing blockchain technology but dismissing Bitcoin (as CEO Jamie Dimon did when he doubted any value in Bitcoin), do you really think that these new applications will produce any major change in how banking is done in this country?
Public vs. Private Blockchain
This issue also leads to a growing debate in the Bitcoin world about the distinction between a public blockchain, which exists now, and private modes of blockchain technology, which are what will be created by these new tools. Some in the Bitcoin world feel that the blockchain technology is, at its core, an open distributed network. They believe that any efforts to create private blockchain technology should not even be called blockchain, since it does away with the core function and open culture of the original.
What Is the Future of Blockchain?
Bitcoin is being embraced throughout the world as more and more countries see how it might enact change. Not only can it disrupt the broken systems that exist now, but it might also be able to solve financial concerns as well. In the U.S., companies are having a love affair with blockchain, which will likely lead to one of two outcomes. Either it will add to, and prop up, the current financial models, or it will create new innovative ways to address the current banking and financial system. If you let companies decide whether to be part of the status quo, you may end up with blockchain being little more than the “new database tool” rather than the “next internet.” Blockchain could have a similarly disruptive effect on the internet, or it could be the next Y2K. Its fate will be up to innovators, disruptors, and visionaries to accept or address the “status quo” and, ultimately, create a better financial system for all people.
