Badasses in Tech 2022 Predictions: Part 5

Will more financial institutions deploy cryptocurrency options for consumers?

"We’re extremely bullish on crypto. As more banks enter the space and set up crypto desks and product teams, there will definitely be new options for consumers. We welcome these developments, as it’s important for crypto to be accessible to all.

The real question is whether traditional institutions are capable of building options that not only give consumers access to crypto but also preserve their privacy and data rights. With gatekeepers, there’s always a security risk to centralization. And users don’t always have full control over how their chosen institutions use their data. That means that many users have traded a free bank account for their data. And when the customer becomes the product, it’s an uneven power dynamic that crypto looks to solve.

So as banks enter the space, they must be careful to evolve their processes, policies and mindsets to reflect what consumers expect - and not just replicate the broken business models of the past. We’re more focused on decentralized governance, such as DAOs, which don’t exactly align with centralized financial institutions.?" -Diane Dai – Co-Founder, DODO

How will blockchain technology enable new opportunities for gaming, art and the creator economy?

"Video has rapidly become one of the biggest parts of the online experience. That’s only slated to continue, as the volume of livestreaming content keeps expanding beyond gaming into nearly every other industry, such as live shopping, music, live events and more.?

It’s a massive technical undertaking to support this growth and to stream video to each individual viewer on their specific device and bandwidth. The blockchain can decentralize the compute-heavy tasks underpinning each livestream, making it more scalable, affordable and secure than existing centralized options.

The shift to Web3 continues to gain momentum, loosening the grip of Big Tech gatekeepers on our online, digital experiences through decentralization. Web3 is especially impactful in livestreaming, where two of the largest cloud companies, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud, also own Twitch and YouTube.

For new entrants creating video streaming platforms, every dollar spent processing livestreams on one of these centralized providers also supports a competitor. Web3 changes those dynamics so that startups and creators don’t have to line the pockets of potential competitors. " -Doug Petkanics – CEO, Livepeer

Badasses in Tech is a podcast series created by Growth Stack and hosted by Summer Falgiano providing exclusive insights from individuals at the forefront of technological innovation and leadership.