panel discussing the challenges and tools on building on the blockchain

BSV implementors share solutions of blockchain tech at Global Blockchain Convention

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Blockchain has been gaining the limelight like blockbuster hits with no bounds. The news, features, criticisms, and misinformation related to blockchain technology are increasing every day. Different groups representing different blockchains aren’t refraining from throwing dirt at each other. Irrespective of being an incredible technology, enterprises often face challenges when adopting blockchain technology. 

Diving into this topic, CoinGeek’s Chief Bitcoin Historian Kurt Wuckert Jr. moderated the panel “Build on Blockchain: Common Challenges & Tools to Make it Easier” on the third day of the BSV Global Blockchain Convention in Dubai. Four BSV experts joined Wuckert: Marcin Rzetecki, Technical Outreach Specialist for Central Europe, BSV Blockchain Association; Rami El Sabeh, IT Operations & QA Lead, Midis Group; Rohan Sharan, Founder of TimeChain Labs; and Shameer Thaha, CEO & Global Chief Strategy Officer, Accubits Technologies.

panel discussing the challenges and tools on building on the blockchain

Wuckert initiated the session by asking the panelists to share their thoughts about what the real value of blockchain is, in general. Thaha noted that the industry has evolved in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and that the nation has seen a “maturity curve,” as seen with other technologies. 

“But, there are some recurring questions being asked, i.e., which is the right blockchain? What use case are you really trying to solve? Issues like scalability, interoperability, and how to implement the technology on digital transformational projects.”

“There are a number of challenges, such as lack of talent availability, scalability, but as we have seen, the adoption of cryptocurrencies, it has put a strain on transaction throughput. Also, maintaining a governance on the platform on a ‘central government model,’ and the battle between the point of control versus a decentralized space,” he said.

Shameer Thaha on GBC22

Thaha added that most enterprises are currently working on identifying the real problem (use case) and what protocol to choose, whether it really solves the problem, and then applying it to the desired use case.

Acknowledging the strength of other software languages and technologies (like ETH), Wuckert simultaneously noted that those technologies don’t scale and aren’t cost-prohibitive, making it necessary to bridge the gap between technologies, particularly with BSV. But how? When asked, Sharan told the panel and the audience that TimeChain Labs has solutions coming up, focusing on the solution of Ethereum contracts transpiling onto the Bitcoin script. He added that the focus would be on high-level languages that are easier for developers to program instead of low-level difficult languages. 

“Gate2Chain has also come up with additional tools about documents on the blockchain using the metanet structure integrated with tokens in such a way that it’s really like a firebase as it offers such simplicity of making an application,” he added.

Rzetecki further added that he specifically joined the BSV Blockchain Association and has been working on bringing more developers and enterprises into the ecosystem. Having worked in this space since 2017, Rzetecki has dealt with many blockchain projects that entail both functional and non-functional requirements. He thinks the process will take time, but the BSV community should keep engaging and educating developers and enterprises and show them that the BSV solution works. 

Marcin Rzetecki on GBC22

Dubai and blockchain

The city of Dubai is rapidly growing, with tons of activities across the area. The construction industry is a great potential market for blockchain in the region as it can tackle several logistical problems there. 

According to Sabeh, the Construction industry pays the GDP of every country, especially Dubai, right now. He pointed out that the construction industry is worth $100 billion and is growing at the rate of 30% per year, but the downside is its very slow adoption rate of technology compared to other industries like manufacturing and agriculture.

“The work is being done the same way and projects are getting very complex. There are three areas within this space that blockchain can be used for: the client side, the main contractors, and the group of other contractors. They should start digitizing their workflow and document each workflow they use, from defect management to all others,” Sabeh remarked.

Rami El Sabeh on GBC 22

Thaha intervened to share his insights about this topic, mentioning that the lack of a regulatory body poses the main challenge, as the regulatory authority helps mainly in cases where large corporations or government enterprises are involved in a project, such as construction gigs in Dubai.

“Public blockchains have always been looked at with fear especially when it comes to government enterprises, but I think that trend is changing and we are seeing newer projects even on public blockchains,” Thaha said.

Sharan chimed in, saying that it boils down to the standards in the end. “The more standards you have made about the transaction protocols instead of being logged into ecosystem so thats why bodies like the Technical Standards Committee is only going to enhance the use of blockchain more and more,” he noted.

Public and private blockchains

panel discussing the challenges and tools on building on the blockchain

There seems to be a rampant misconception regarding public versus private blockchains. The basis of the Bitcoin protocol is that we can all use the same public ledger, but everyone’s or their respective company’s privacy can be completely maintained on the ledger. Rzetecki said most companies understand and identify their problems and that they need to be solved, but they don’t know how and which blockchain to use to resolve those problems.

Speaking of the Grand Prix event in the UAE, Thaha told the audience that the event witnesses millions of visitors looking at a drop of an NFT. Technology-wise, his team’s choice for the event was to pick React Node.js and PostgreSQL, while from the protocol perspective, they had the sponsor for F1. Therefore, they focused on parameters like the speed, transactions, number of concurrent users, and the cost of actually minting and transacting on the network. 

“We operated the NFT marketplace on Velas, because Velas was the sponsor for the Alpine F1 team,” Thaha said. 

What more does BSV need? 

Wuckert asked the panel how the companies choose the next level, which protocol they build on, and how they make the right decisions for their business to successfully last for the next 20 years? 

Sharan noted that in addition to a series of good token solutions the BSV ecosystem has built, what’s currently lacking in the Indian market is the lack of BSV. 

“The residents of India still need to access BSV, they need some BSV or we need to provide them with a fiat solution. It could be a stablecoin on BSV, something that compensates for the missing so the users can driectly use the application from fiat, accessing blockchain. And that’s what TimeChain Labs is going to implement through a widget called BitRupee,” Sharan revealed.

Rohan Sharan on GBC22

Thaha mentioned that features like lending and borrowing are what the ecosystem can potentially look at. 

Sebah expressed that developers need more indexing services that they can use through their APIs, which makes it much easier for them to build on the BSV enterprise blockchain.

Rzetcki pointed out that resources on BitcoinSV.com and the BSV Academy offer immense knowledge and support to outsiders, but the ecosystem needs to bridge the gap when it comes to migrating business from other chains onto the BSV enterprise. He added that the BSV community also needs a ‘very legal launchpad’ specially for the startups.

Watch the BSV Global Blockchain Convention Dubai 2022 Day 1 here:

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Watch the BSV Global Blockchain Convention Dubai 2022 Day 2 here:

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Watch the BSV Global Blockchain Convention Dubai 2022 Day 3 here:

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