Here is probably the most impactful 9-page doc of the past 10 years in the financial space!
“A proposed a system for electronic transactions without relying on trust”…”To solve this, we proposed a peer-to-peer network using proof-of-work to record a public history of transactions that quickly becomes computationally impractical for an attacker to change if honest nodes control a majority of CPU power. The network is robust in its unstructured simplicity”.
“A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online
payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a
financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main
benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending.”
Whatever your opinion is on Bitcoin, cryptos, Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs – And No, the term Blockchain is NOT mentioned in the WP), this doc has changed the way value can be created and shared.
Trust can be “automatized”, leading to a single source of truth; no need to compensate a third party to validate a transaction.
Reducing mediation costs means significant savings for many industries.
In a recent studyfrom Juniper Research, financial institutions could generate savings over $27bln on cross-border settlements.
Logistics, Healthcare, Real estateare among the many sectors experimenting the potential benefits of the DLTs.
Blockchain can also, and must be, used to reinforce impacting investmentsand support Sustainable Development Goals, through more sustainable and inclusive supply chainsfor instance.
No doubt it’s one of the most debated subjects of the moment.
But you have to acknowledge that real things are happening around cryptocurrencies, from new fundraising solutions to custodian services developed for institutional investors.
Regulators all over the world are scratching their heads around this new asset class, while investments are booming.
After all the comments on the “bubble” and the crazy valuations of Q4 2017, the least we can say is that cryptocurrencies, and the underlying technologies, are here to stay.
Funny how Bitcoin has been actually less volatile than Nasdaq, Dow Jones and SP500 in the last month (October 2018), moving just 0.45%.
Never too late to join the party.
We’ve just watched the pilot. The next season will be a hell of a show!
