The Trust Revolution: how blockchain consensus is the game changer

Since the dawn of the banking industry and the stock company, trust has been a key element of all our business relationships. Today you think of Amazon as a source for millions of goods, do you trust Amazon to deliver, do you even think about the trust you place when you order an item from Amazon.

The banking industry really took off with the invention of double entry bookkeeping around 1500 AD. Since then banks have held a position of trust in society, that until recently has been unchallenged. The financial crisis of 2007-2009 tarnished this perception of trust and at the same Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first bitcoin changing the world of trust forever.

Designed into the bitcoin protocol was the consensus algorithm that enables the blockchain to be the trusted source of truth. This consensus mechanism built upon cryptology for security and distributed processing of every request for an update is the game-changing component that Satoshi brought to the world.

Consensus enables trust to be established between two parties that have no knowledge of each other. This trust is established by the consensus algorithm used to confirm each and every transaction stored on the blockchain.

So how does this change the business world? One of the primary roles of an intermediary is to establish trust between parties. If that trust is established by the blockchain then the intermediary needs to add value in other ways or be eliminated from the transaction.

A good example of how this is changing the business world, a friend of mine consults to companies around the world and used to get paid via the traditional banking system. This payment process used to take 3-5 days and the intermediaries involved would each take a fee. Now he is paid in bitcoin or ether and can see the payment in minutes, so now he no longer uses banks whenever he consults.

This example is very straightforward but if you consider the number of intermediaries involved in the supply chain or in manufacturing, you can see how this can change the business landscape as we know it. 

So join the trust revolution now before you are disintermediated!

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In Q1 2018, I am launching a training initiative "Blockchain and Business" that will give business professionals an in-depth understanding of the blockchain and its potential to change the business world. For more information go to Blockchain and Business

Edwin Carlson

CEO, SmartBit Auto

Global Blockchain Lecturer on Blockchain and Business