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The Business Blockchain

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The Business Blockchain

Promise, Practice, and Application of the Next Internet Technology

Wiley,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

Disruptive start-ups want to make money, but blockchain wants more – it aims to rock the world.

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Technologist William Mougayar thinks blockchain is the tech world’s next killer app. In this study of blockchain’s potential, he outlines a future in which blockchain will seamlessly underlie banking relationships, store medical records and issue passports, all through a secure process. Mougayar acknowledges that blockchain has garnered ample hype, and details the obstacles stalling a blockchain world. Among them: Software developers have yet to embrace blockchain, investors seem underwhelmed and regulators remain puzzled. Despite those hurdles, Mougayar argues that blockchain holds a position similar to the Internet’s in 1997 – poised to unleash a massive, world-changing breakthrough. Although no study could address every issue or likely development in this rapidly unfolding field, the author predicts that the financial industry will be the first to feel the effects, and other sectors will follow. Despite some choppiness in its organization, getAbstract recommends this timely examination to executives, investors and policy makers who always want to know what’s speeding down the tracks now.

Summary

The Blockchain Revolution

Blockchain presents the opportunity for a dramatic shift in how businesses, governments and societies operate. The blockchain allows organizations to record and precisely track transactions permanently. The implications are revolutionary. Blockchain will create new levels of functionality and groundbreaking layers of trust that will sit atop the Internet.

In a blockchain world, you won’t need faith in the honesty and reliability of the party with whom you do business. The blockchain’s system of “cryptographic proofs” will trump trust. The most famous example of blockchain technology is Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Seeking to invent a form of electronic cash that could survive outside banks, he created a system that time stamps transactions using a method that is exceedingly difficult to sabotage. Bitcoin showed the world that blockchain could provide a peer-to-peer currency free from fraud. Companies are likely to place blockchains atop the Internet to create layers of security and trust. A combination of database, development platform and network enabler, blockchain could become a ubiquitous technology tool. Deploying...

About the Author

William Mougayar is general partner at the early-stage tech fund Virtual Capital Ventures. A blockchain industry insider, he sits on the board of the OpenBazaar (OBI) open source protocol.

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