Blockchain technology is sweeping across industries and players in virtually every sector have witnessed the disruption. In the financial sector, the unbanked demographic is among populations directly and substantially targeted by this technology, while early adopters willing to risk have a chance to stake their fortunes.
In fact, some have reaped enough to last them a lifetime by trading in products such as bitcoin.
As this happens, there is, observably, one fundamental aspect that all blockchain products aim to achieve: merging technology and money management using a peer-to-peer approach.
In other words, using the tech to benefit all parties involved, thus creating a more stable and balanced economy while opening up a previously enclosed and almost "insiders-only" industry.
Blockchain technology is causing a major reorganization of the traditional financial structures. With just a little knowledge and skills in computing, it has become possible to trade on these internet-based products in real time from anywhere in the world.
Some deeper understanding and technical know-how might be necessary (for procedures such as “mining”), but blockchain has brought to the world possibilities hitherto unknown and unimagined.
Think of a person in the rice fields of India with an internet-enabled smartphone being able to invest in a blockchain product. That is a whole paradigm shift, and it is underway.
One major appeal of cryptocurrency is that it does not depend on one authority like say the Federal Reserve or the Central Bank of “A” or "B” for policy formulation and/or regulation. Its rates are completely market dependent, assuring the stability of each cryptocurrency. Its performance is primarily in the hands of adopters/traders rather than a group of boardroom policymakers. The result? More economic stability.
That blockchain will influence the future of the finance industry is indisputable. In realization of this, governments and organizations large and small are adopting and developing cryptocurrencies, influencing the direction of various economies.
Estonia, a nation known for its ease in tech adoption, is at an advanced stage of developing Estcoin, a cryptocurrency token aimed at enhancing its e-residency platform. The platform is used to register and regulate businesses in this small European nation. But how will this affect the nation’s economy given that the official currency is the euro?
Kaspar Korjus, managing director of the e-residency platform, offered sharp insight, saying that instead of being critical of cryptocurrencies, governments should embrace them because “they provide a more efficient means for exchanging value globally.”
Elsewhere, Dubai aims to have all government services delivered through blockchain technology by 2020. Where does that leave the Dirham, the emirate’s official currency? Only time will tell, but it’s just a matter of time before cryptocurrencies and the blockchain influence the conventional economy.
