While cryptocurrencies are undergoing major downturns, frightening those who had approached them recently and probably scaring them away, I am motivated to share some thoughts. I recognise that you have to be a little reckless to invest in cryptocurrencies. There are those who approach them simply to get some short-lived returns and then there are those who, on the other hand, believe in them deeply; I am referring to the blockchain, because behind this concept there is something more than pure speculation. It’s something broader, which goes beyond just the context of technology.
If you let yourself get carried away by curiosity and allow your thirst for knowledge to take over, you will come to understand that the blockchain is the direct expression of a wide-ranging change, one without boundaries, which is heading straight for the social, political and economic fabric of our day-to-day life, transforming it definitively.
Blockchain is the technology through which cryptocurrencies ̶ such as Bitcoin and Ether ̶ work, just to mention the most important ones. It leverages the resources of a global peer-to-peer network to ensure the integrity of the value exchanged between billions of devices without going through a trusted third party.
Blockchain is decentralised, open, globally inclusive, immutable and secure and provides us with unprecedented capabilities for creating and exchanging value in society. It’s the first limited digital form that cannot be duplicated.
As a platform for the fourth industrial revolution, it enables innovations such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics. People can participate in the economy, create wealth and improve the world.
Like the Internet, the blockchain must not be governed. It is a globally-available resource that allows you to change business models and transform industries. Unlike the Internet, a blockchain requires management at three levels. At platform level, looking for improved scalability and energy consumption, at application level, seeking a better user experience and at general ecosystem level, looking at the need for a legal structure ̶ adequate legislation which is in tune with the development of the business.
