The Bitcoin Masterclasses in Zurich: Blockchain enables us to change the nature of accounting

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Recalling the benefits outlined in the first session, such as having verifiably true information on-chain and all that entails, Dr. Craig Wright asks what areas we could implement it.

Looking at art first, Dr. Wright imagines a scenario in which there’s a dispute over ownership. We could verify who owns it by using the information on the blockchain. Art auction companies like Christie’s could make it the norm that buyers and sellers have to do transactions on the blockchain, speeding up the technology adoption in their industry. In fact, one of the reasons big auction houses like this exist and have such prominent positions in the marketplace is that they’re trusted, but Bitcoin SV (BSV) removes the need for trusted intermediaries in all sorts of areas, creating peer-to-peer economies where they’ve never existed before.

Emphasizing a point he made earlier, Dr. Wright says that auction houses like Christie’s serve more than one purpose, so eliminating the need for a trusted intermediary does not necessarily remove them. That’s also the case for auditors, accountants, and other experts. In the new blockchain-powered economy, they would serve a different purpose, but they’d still add value and be needed for attestations and other important things.

Sticking with the art example, Dr. Wright again points out that blockchains can’t solve all problems. Warehouses can burn down, art can be damaged during transportation, humans can tamper with it, etc. Blockchain can help track where and when these things happened, but things like insurance companies, security teams, and other services will still be necessary.

“We want to move people into value-add,” Dr. Wright says. Doing so can also save companies significant amounts by reducing the man-hours required to do things. Having one provably true data set that everyone can look at, attest to, and do what they need to with will also create substantial time and monetary savings.

Looking at parts in supply chains, Dr. Wright says one of the main reasons for inaccurate inventory records is that it’s just too difficult to give every box and item its own number. With the blockchain, that becomes easier. Doing so would allow for other interesting avenues, such as tracking the history of every unique part through its life cycle.

Speaking of life cycles, Dr. Wright asks if there are things that don’t expire. The group thinks of gold. He then asks them to imagine every gold bar being tokenized, making it possible to audit inventory much more easily and make it easier for suppliers and sellers to ensure their gold bars are turned over regularly. Likewise, things like diamonds can be switched or stolen, and blockchain can make it easier to detect when it happened.

“We have a technology that enables us to change the nature of accounting,” he says. It’s no longer about saying we have one box of 20 widgets but rather about having specific widgets. Being able to record things cost-effectively on an individual basis is what enables this. This has huge implications, including enabling companies to be able to get verifiably accurate information about inventory in real-time, more easily track fraud, and more.”

“We’re not going to put a barcode on a coffee bean, but we are going to track how many go in and out and look for anomalies,” Dr. Wright says, summing up the point of this session and the third Masterclasses in general.

Watch The Bitcoin Masterclasses Series 3 with Craig Wright: Yes, human accountants are still needed