The blockchain, decentralisation and industry disruption

Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that underlies cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. It provides a way to record and transfer data that is transparent, safe, auditable, and resistant to outages. The blockchain has the ability to make organisations that use it transparent, democratic, decentralized, efficient, and secure. It's a technology that holds a lot of promise for the future, and it is already disrupting many industries.

Source: TedxTalks

I really enjoyed this talk was given by TED by Charles Hoskinson who is a tech entrepreneur and mathematician. He believes that Bitcoin-related technology is about to revolutionise property rights, banking, remote education, private law and crowd-funding for the developing world. Charles Hoskinson is Chief Executive Officer at Thanatos Holdings, Director at The Bitcoin Education Project, and President at the Hoskinson Content Group LLC. It certainly gets one thinking about how much decentralisation and blockchain technologies will benefit humanity in the next decade. Lots of industries are going to get disrupted.

Source: Future Thinkers

This is another fascinating short video which looks at 19 industries which will be disrupted by blockchain technology in the coming years. Those industries where there is a "middle man" that does not provide any real value are particularly vulnerable. The businesses of the future which can incorporate the blockchain into their business model will be able to offer a cheaper and more efficient service, once the "middle man"is cut out. Significant changes are coming to many industries like recruitment, real estate, legal and marketing industry.

It is worthwhile watching this video if you are a keen ICO and crypto investor. It is important to make sure that there is a strong business case behind the token you are investing into. It also helps to appreciate how the shift towards decentralisation (away from centralised business models e.g. Traditional banking) will affect different businesses in the coming years.