Why I Still Bet on Blockchain

It was not long ago when crypto, NFTs, Web3 and metaverse were the coolest sounding vocabulary in town, ringing in the ears of investors, entrepreneurs and the general public alike. It was a privilege to sit amongst the hooded “Cryto-Bros” listening without much understanding to their new language. Beyond the brotherhood, trading tokens and collecting NFTs were gaining mainstream popularity as a hobby and/or profession. It is dramatic when the exchanges imploded and all the smoke vaporized into nothing. The once trendy terms are now synonymous of delusions, speculations and scams.

Blockchain, the technology behind it all, suffered collateral damage from the market as the sentiments blew up. It is like hanging the gun for the murder, while the human culprits live on scot-free, conspiring the next massacre using a newer and even more potent weapon. This is a common plot across the history of humanity, which we will have a full discourse on another time.

Back to our innocent technology, while most of us are distancing ourselves away from Blockchain, I am still a strong believer in its potentials that are quickly materializing in the present, and a bright future powered by its revolutionary potentials.

?1.????Smart Contracts

The most attractive promise of Blockchain lies in its applications to automatically execute actions based on written logics. The issue of trust, or the lack thereof, in the context of human dealings is rendered moot, when a non-person processes the transactions without any self-interests or human errors. A promise is a promise when it is written on the Blockchain.

Of course, there are quite some challenges to overcome in order for these applications to serve their exact purposes. It depends on the technology itself, but more so on the ability of the coder to properly model the intents and integrate the executions.

2.????Disintermediation

The raison d'être and genesis, as the brotherhood and believers of democratization and decentralization will tell you, is its potential to disintermediate and thereby, creating freer and fairer markets.

As a lawyer, I am inspired and fearful at the same time, that contracts can be written, performed, verified and enforced in a stratosphere without a legal system. Although, arguably, legal knowledge is required in the writing of the logics, the possibilities (some are becoming realities) that intermediaries, e.g. money-changers, remittance, etc. and intermediary service providers, e.g. lawyers, bankers, trustees etc. could be totally replaced by the Blockchain, are real and imminent.

?3.????Digitization

A general advantage of Blockchain is in digitization, with a wide range of applications ranging from digitalized currencies, trading and markets, to art and virtual reality. While the later use cases are still evolving with their values being debated, as seen in the trading of NFTs and Web3 products, the earlier applications are already becoming common, led by the issuance of digital Yuan and seen in the burgeoning of carbon exchanges on Blockchain.

4.????Tokenization of Values

Last but not least, Blockchain is an effective tool in unlocking values which may be latent or hidden, through tokenization. Larger assets, e.g. real assets, are fractionalized by tokenization to provide accessibility and liquidity to a larger market of investors. Utility tokens also helps to realize future and/or potential values in the present and can be used to support projects and innovations which are validated by the market through the process.

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Concluding Thoughts

?The market is like a pendulum seeking its equilibrium but never quite find it. In fact, most of the time, it is swinging high at its extremes. While the mass shuns crypto like a plague and looks at everything related with a tainted glass, I implore you to value the technology and its potential, fairly and with hope.

“The value of an idea lies in the using of it.“

Thomas Edison (1847 – 1931), Inventor

Disclaimer: The content of this article is informational only. Nothing in this note shall constitute legal, investment or professional advice.

Read?my other publications on:

LinkedIn:?Chat GPT is Not Your Best Friend Yet - and Here is Why ; Living a Colourful Life; ?Carbon Taxes & Credits - An Introduction ;?3 Reasons Why Every Business Should Incorporate Sustainability ;?Master of None — Reflections on Tips to Becoming a Successful Generalist; The Fool-Proof Guide to Setting up an ESG Framework & Policy for Businesses, Investors and Investment Managers, Part 1 of 5 ;?Gone with the Red — Ep.1; ?My footprints 2022 ;

Medium: Chat GPT is Not Your Best Friend Yet - and Here is Why ;?Living a Colourful Life ;?Carbon Taxes & Credits - An Introduction ;?3 Reasons Why Every Business Should Incorporate Sustainability ;?Master of None — 3 Key Tips to Success as a Generalist ; The Fool-Proof Guide to Setting up an ESG Framework & Policy for Businesses, Investors and Investment Managers, Part 1 of 5 ;?Gone with the Red — Ep.1;? My Footprints 2022 ;?More than Just Words — embracing a greener life