5DLT, Blockchain, Alt-Currencies and Distributed Ecosystems
Dubai is a frontrunner in adopting the latest technology and has set a goal to become the world’s first government to execute all implementable transactions on the blockchain by 2020. The government initiatives in this direction present tremendous business opportunities for the private sector in the UAE. —Ahmad Al Mulla, chairman of CIOMajlis, 24 July 2017
Now before I start, I’ll make the obvious observation. By the time this book comes out, whatever I’ve written here about blockchain and cryptocurrencies will be out of date. News about China and their Bitcoin exchanges, regulatory responses to initial coin offerings (ICOs), bankers talking about a bubble or Ponzi scheme are daily occurrences. But that should also tell you something. I’ll also be clear that if you’re looking for an exhaustive essay on how blockchain works, consensus versus private versus public, etc—you’ll be disappointed—this is not the book for that. What I want to discuss is how technologies like blockchain will force banks to evolve and how cryptocurrencies and ICOs may signal an evolutionary change in the way we think about capital markets, commodities and capital flows themselves—a futurist’s perspective on the whole ecosystem if you like.
Prior to 2008 we hadn’t heard of Bitcoin, blockchain or distributed ledgers. There was scattered talk of digital currencies, like the early QQ coins and Linden dollars from SecondLife™, but DLT1 was nowhere ...