We’re not early

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The idea that it is still the early days of blockchain technology and digital assets just isn’t true anymore. The Bitcoin Genesis Block was created over a decade ago, the Ethereum genesis block was created nearly eight years ago, and the BSV ticker is approaching its 4th birthday. Blockchain protocols have been around for quite some time, and some of the world’s smartest individuals have had time to research them and experiment with them. On top of that, blockchain technology has had a fair and increasing amount of time being discussed on the most popular media outlets.

A significant amount of the population is aware of blockchain and digital assets, and when it comes to the United States, I think it is safe to say that a good portion of the most influential investors, bankers, financiers, and engineers have taken some time to try to understand what blockchain can and can’t do for the world.

Is blockchain overhyped?

Several major corporations have implemented or experimented with blockchain in some way, shape, or form. At the same time, many high-profile businessmen and woman have used their soapboxes to denounce blockchain technology. Warren Buffet has called Bitcoin “rat poison,” Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan, has referred to digital assets as “decentralized Ponzi schemes,” and the list goes on.

Both the positive and negative buzz around blockchain technology has catalyzed research around the topic and has resulted in a transfer of talent from legacy industries into the blockchain and digital asset space. Many people from the world of government, banking, finance, and tech have left their corporate jobs to join a lean, fast-moving ‘crypto’ company or start-up. This serves as a signal that there are opportunities—and a lot of money to be made—in the blockchain and digital asset space. But all of this supports the idea that it is no longer the early days of blockchain.

In an innovation’s earliest days, it is seen as a risk to spend a majority of your time and energy on a good or service that might not have a future ahead of it. Where we are in blockchain now, with both talent and investors following the money, the cat is out of the bag, and it has been for several years, there is both opportunity and a future in the blockchain and digital asset space. At this point, participants in the industry are one of the first to the party, but they are not early.

Is blockchain the future?

So where does all this “we’re early” talk come from? I think it comes from the element of uncertainty in regard to what the future of blockchain and digital assets actually looks like. Another contributing factor is probably the lack of staying power and traction that most blockchain solutions have had so far.

It’s safe to say that the digital asset markets and trading are here to stay, but as far as leveraging the blockchain in business and consumer settings, there haven’t been many—if any—notable instances of a blockchain solution picking up sustainable traction.

So why is the “we are early” mantra continually repeated even though some blockchain protocols are over 10 years old at this point? It’s because not many people are using blockchain in a way that impacts the world. But rather than acknowledging that previous blockchain trends were failed attempts at innovations, the failures get smoke screened under the guise of “being early” and being so early that the general public and corporations don’t understand the innovation at hand.

In my opinion, all that it will take to change this is one blockchain-based solution, innovation, or even a major corporate using blockchain in a way that sustainably and continually generates revenue. I do not think we are very far from that taking place either—why? Because we aren’t early. Enough talented minds are working in the blockchain and digital asset industry to make it happen, but to date, there just has not been a real breakthrough that convinces the world that blockchain can actually make their lives better or significantly increase efficiency in a business setting.

Watch: The BSV Global Blockchain Convention presentation, Vaionex: Frictionless Blockchain Solutions