Blockchain and recreational marijuana...
I was recently sitting across the table from an associate who is trying to raise money for a couple of ventures she's involved with and as part of the conversation she said (with a sigh), "If it doesn't have the word blockchain or marijuana in the title of the pitch deck no one cares. Blockchain and recreational marijuana is all anyone wants to talk about".
By nature I am not a "tech guy" and rarely an early adopter, but it became apparent after talking to other people (and the recent deal between the social media platform beBee and a blockchain company called Profede) I needed to have a deeper understanding of what blockchain is, and more importantly what blockchain can do.
I wanted to ensure that if I missed any opportunity it wasn't because I was too lazy to become more knowledgeable.
I've done a fair bit of research so far and I'm just starting to glean the potential of blockchain, although I'm still blind to most of it — I definitely have come to understand why people say it's the next iteration of the Internet though. There will probably be a great many holes in my thinking about blockchain but I wanted to make an attempt at articulating what it is, and more importantly, what it can do. And I think it's best to start with the internet.
The thing about the internet as we know it today is everything can be copied... over, and over, and over again — and because of this the content of the internet has been "devalued" to a point it has no innate value, as well as virtually no level of trust associated with it. Is that beautiful photograph the original or the millionth copy?
Blockchain allows for both trust and value to be created on the internet.
Using very complicated math and a decentralized network of computers, a public ledger can be created that offers what I call "immutable uniqueness" — it allows for the creation of something that can not be copied and is verified (and policed) by a public, decentralized system of users. The need for a third party trust institution (such as a bank)to ensure a transaction is honest is no longer needed. This I understood right away, but frankly I didn't want to be caught up in the very big turf war that is brewing between the currently trust establishments and something so very disruptive.
What I didn't appreciate was blockchain also allows you to create "ecosystems" (economic systems, not ecological systems)
The bi-product of a system that offers "immutable uniqueness" is that it creates something which can be given "immutable value". And I suppose you might as well call it currency because it is inherently used as a reward for any effort in the ecosystem — bitcoin miners are rewarded for all their computer power, brains, and involvement with bitcoin. Blockchain enables ecosystems to be created which allow you, through your "efforts and involvement in that ecosystem" to create currency from the system that unto itself has value — much like a country's economy is reflected in the value of it's currency.
And one last concept that ties this all together — fiat currency.
Fiat currency is defined as a currency established as money by government regulation or law or an ecosystem, and is derived from the Latin fiat ("let it become", "it will become") — simply put, it's a currency that is worth what it is worth because we have decided to believe it is so. How else would you explain bitcoin having a value of $12,804 as I type this?
My biggest problem now is that I'm not imaginative enough to grasp all the ecosystems that blockchain will create — something that is now on my immediate to-do list.
iamgpe
PS: I may be looking at this all wrong, so any help in this regard would be appreciated.
"
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Comments
Graham🐝 Edwards
6 years ago #20
Thanks for the insight Jerry Fletcher... I agree, I don't think the middlemen will go into the night quietly... I also agree that it's important to know as much as possible. I am laughing as I look for that pony because it's starting to get very big, and very messy. g
Graham🐝 Edwards
6 years ago #19
Hi Phil Friedman... I think some of this discussion starts galvanizing positions regarding "centralization" versus ""decentralization" — and this gets real philosophical and social regarding where people stand. It definitely brings out the libertarian in me.. lol. I think the term "cryptocurrency" actually clouds the discussion regarding something that now can be given "immutable value" because of blockchain — I don't think it's truly reflective to ground it against the way we currently "regulate" our money. There are many exchanges that are used to trade things of defined value... metal, jewels, etc. With that said, if you want to use "blockchain" in a decentralized way you need to have some sort of "value token" associated with it to ensure the "ecosystem" functions... and as a by-product it now can be given a value (and traded). What that value is, well the concept of fiat currency comes into play, but I also think it eventually will reflect the "ecosystem" it's associated with. If you want to use blockchain centrally (as we know banks are already getting into) it will bring them greater efficiency I suspect, and probably displace so current "trust functions"... i.e. various auditors. Will check out the #ShiftTheParadigm. Hope all is well my friend.
Jerry Fletcher
6 years ago #18
Phil Friedman
6 years ago #17
Graham🐝 Edwards
6 years ago #16
Thanks for the insights Harvey Lloyd... I will not be surprised if the guy who came up with Etherium rises to Bill Gates status. The inventors always get their due.... and currently it seems to be all in the virtual world.
Graham🐝 Edwards
6 years ago #15
Thanks for the comment and insights Javier \ud83d\udc1d beBee I am very excited to participate in the evolution of beBee.
Graham🐝 Edwards
6 years ago #14
Thanks for your perspectives and possible uses of blockchain Ren\u00e9e \ud83d\udc1d Cormier
Graham🐝 Edwards
6 years ago #13
Part 2 Let's suppose (and we will use beBee because we are currently on it) that beBee is build on blockchain. Because it is, this conversation, the content, the fact we are handsome fellas, that we are active on the platform, and we have a number of people engaging with us — we generate 10 buzz dollars each for our efforts. 5 of those buzz dollars go back into fuelling the platform and 5 buzz dollars into our beBee bank account. These are buzz dollars we can use as we see fit — invest back into the platform and our efforts, trade for stuff or take our currency into the open market and trade it for other currencies... be it the crypto currencies or USD. And today you can trade 1 buzz dollar for 4 USDs. So our professional data and activity has earned us 20 USD each. Currently this is how I see tangible value being given to our "professional data" because of blog chain. I'm not looking at this transactional where I give you this and you pay me this — I see it as involvement in an "ecosystem" that can generate tangible value with our intangible "professional data" That's all I got so far. Hope all is well,
Graham🐝 Edwards
6 years ago #12
Hey Phil Friedman... always great to have you part of the conversation as I appreciate your perspective. As I mentioned I'm trying to understand all of this "blockchain stuff"... frankly to get involved or go do other things. I will try to answer your question as I am seeing it (for right or wrong) But first I can't help poke at your B2B and P2B thoughts — yes I agree that the actual business transaction doesn't involve a middleman (or shouldn't, like you suggest) but it will be hard to convince me that the bank that cashes all those cheques you get, and manages all of the other aspects of money management isn't a middleman. If they aren't the biggest middlemen around I don't know who is. Blockchain can change all of that (in theory) — but as I mentioned I see that as a big turf war against the establishment and I will leave that to others. Regarding the "professional data" aspect and my current perspective looks at "professional data" in a broader sense — mostly because I don't see what others have suggested but that doesn't mean it's not valid because I still don't "get it". Let me paint a future scenario that speaks to creating tangible value from our "professional data". Part 1
Graham🐝 Edwards
6 years ago #11
Thanks for the comment Pascal Derrien. I think this challenging because it is a big shift in how things are done and our world is shifting more and more into a virtual setting. I think the hype of speculating around bitcoin has created a discussion of investment and speculation of cryptocurrency instead of understanding how block chain can be used. Last time I looked there were over 1,300 cryptocurrencies and when you look a many of the companies you can't help asking the question, "other than mining your cryptocurrency" what else do you do. But that doesn't apply to all of them and I think it's these companies that are looking at the utility of block chain. For right or wrong these are the thoughts that are forming in my little peanut head.
Graham🐝 Edwards
6 years ago #10
Thanks for the comment — I totally buy into Warren's intrinsic value investing philosophies and I don't disagree that bitcoin (in particular) will will go the way of the big tulip bulb crash of 1637... one day people said tulip bulbs were worth a bunch and then one day they said it wasn't. Granted tulip bulbs are worth more than zero but sure not 10,000 guilders. Like most value investors I suspect Warren isn't interested in any investment that doesn't have intrinsic value that he can measure... My thinking is that the ecosystem's that are build on block change with have a value that can be measured and create a currency that is reflective of something less speculative. Again, I'm trying to understand all of this.
Phil Friedman
6 years ago #9
Well, that confirms Warren Buffet is a smart man. :-) Cheers!
Phil Friedman
6 years ago #8
and Graham - the following question is posed here: "Fiat currency is ... a currency that is worth what it is worth because we have decided to believe it is so. How else would you explain bitcoin having a value of $12,804 as I type this?" As I see it, fiat currencies have underlying value because they are, in most nations, the only legal tender that can be used in satisfaction of purchases of real goods and services and debts. For example, legally, if you want to purchase real goods and services in the U.S., you must by law (fiat) use U.S.dollars. The same is true in Canada, where you must use Canadian dollars. In the EEC things are a bit confused as many countries recognize the Euro in addition to the nation's native currency. Cryptocurrencies, like BitCoin, however, are not legal currencies and are not mandated to be accepted in satisfaction of debt or in sales transactions involving real good and services. Cryptocurrencies appear to take their value from the expectation on the part of those who buy and hold them that they will continue to appreciate in value. A lot like parimutuel betting and various ponzi schemes -- and, for that matter, like the contemporary stock markets -- where value is based solely on the belief that the currency or token will rise in value due to buyer demand. Unfortunately, like the stock markets, cryptocurrency speculation is a zero -sum game, that is, in order for someone to win, someone has to lose. And in the end, the question is who will have a chair when the music stops and who will be left standing, holding their X#X#X in their hand. IMO. Cheers!
Phil Friedman
6 years ago #7
“... [Blockchain] really is about protecting your privacy and ensuring you have complete control over your information and intellectual property. “ Have you considered that the first time you fill out an application for a loan ir mortgage, you put most, if not all of that information in the hands if a third party who may or may not takes adequate steps to maintain your privacy and security?
Harvey Lloyd
6 years ago #6
Harvey Lloyd
6 years ago #5
Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸
6 years ago #4
Phil Friedman
6 years ago #3
Phil Friedman
6 years ago #2
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #1
agree with Chris a lot of hype and blind optimism on the topic at the moment. from the experts I would expect a bit less conversation and a bit more action in showing concretely and explaining concretely an end to end process and its value in plain English not spin English... I think that's why most of us struggle :-)