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The Power Of Blockchain
Not many people would have imagined how the advent of the internet would change the world. A lot of commentators thought the Internet was a fad - "Most things that succeed don't require retraining 250 million people."
Today, you are reading this on the Crossgate Capital website, you may have been streaming movies or reading about bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies online. Some commentators consider that the internet filled the "Distance Gap".
Any invention was successful because it solved a real world problem. There have been many successful innovations which have solved Gaps.
Below are examples of the Gaps solved throughout history and how Blockchain could potentially solve the next big Gap - "The Trust Gap"
Knowledge Gap
The printing press was the invention of the 15th century, and radically changed how ideas and thoughts were shared.
Books, pamphlets, and documents of all types could be printed and distributed all throughout Europe; leading to a mass spread of knowledge and communication – ultimately pushing the scientific enlightenment.
The printing press addressed the Knowledge Gap.
Power Gap
In the 19th Century, the Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Europe and the US. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines.
The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way.
In particular, average income and population began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth.
With the discovery of powerful engines, we reduced slavery and filled the Power Gap.
Distance Gap
The Internet shrunk the world. Due to the Internet, a huge number of services have already become closer and can be performed without changing locations: one can pay utility bills or manage bank accounts, or shop online from anywhere in the world.
The Internet is becoming the driving force of globalization processes and all the economic, social and technological changes in the world associated with them.
The internet solved the Distance Gap.
Trust Gap
Blockchain changes something that is very fundamental to us, something we might think of as a standard way of action, something we do hundreds of times a day. What blockchain is going to do is change how we ‘trust’.
Trust is the fundamental currency of all commerce. Without it, commerce will come to a complete halt. Trust is something which is easily breakable, something very delicate but is able to run transactions worth trillions among billions of us.
If you could trade, interact because you had a complete trust from the outset, with anyone wherever they may be in the world - how would this impact business and society?
With the boom of the internet, we are now transacting and exchanging data in an unmatchable pace.
Blockchain creates trust as it reduces the perception of uncertainty and risk in transactions and provides for increased transparency.
Uncertainty is reduced as you're not trusting any single individual or entity who may make a mistake or is unable to adequately supervise and control the actions of other participants.
In a global world you may not have met the entity that you are doing business with - which reduces trust from the outset. With Blockchain you are trusting technology.
Blockchain creates transparency in every transaction by confirming each step with a block entry.
For example, a dairy company may create a blockchain solution for their export of milk to another country. Every entity in the process would need to record how they handle the milk, the weight of the milk etc. They would also have to approve the previous intermediaries work on the blockchain.
If the weight of the milk, the arrival time or anything else is incorrect, the company can use the blockchain to trace back through the supply chain and find out who is responsible for the issue.
Today this process is done with paperwork and signatures, but this process is often subject to manipulation. The data on the blockchain however cannot be manipulated and thereby increases transparency.
Blockchain can also provide for greater efficiency and thereby enable cost reduction.
Blockchain addresses the next big gap, the Trust Gap.
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