We are at a very interesting point in history.
Of course, that is a statement that is made at almost every point in history. People look around and are usually amazed what is taking place. Since it often involves change, this is something that many resist. In fact, right now we see a move trying to recapture the "good ole days".
Unfortunately, for those with that mindset, it is not going to happen.
Technology is racing along upending most of what we know as society. There are at least half a dozen technologies that, on their own, could have the impact similar to the smartphone. However, since we are seeing multiple ones simultaneously, the net effect will be much greater.
This convergence is going to create a decade that we cannot totally comprehend. We are going to see advancements over that time which only existed in science fiction a few years ago.
What this means is that we are going to see a massive explosion in wealth. The world is going to be generating this at a level that is drastically higher than today. It seems odd to make this statement with much of the world using negative interest rates. However, when we factor the technological impact, we could see a 10X multiple in the next 15-20 years.
Automation and robotics are going to play a large role in this. The fact that we are going to see machines producing a large amount of output without the involvement of many humans radically accelerates growth. Of course, this will have other effects such as the expected job losses.
I feel one major aspect to all of this is the fact the Internet came to money. When this mechanism enters an industry, it creates abundance. Whether we look at information, music, video, or communication, all are abundant and, relatively, inexpensive today. Compare that to 30 years ago and it is easy to see the difference.
Getting to the most basic level, look at the impact of blockchain and cryptocurrency. Consider what it is like to create a monetary system today.
In fact, if you look at it, creating a currency is as easy is making a webpage.
Let that settle in for a second. It takes about the same effort to come up with your own currency as it does to create a webpage. Actually, I would guess some of the tribes that developed their own token spent more time on their site than went into the currency.
That is how easy it is to create money.
What do you think will happen when billions of people are looking at doing the same thing?
Some will make the claim that not all currencies will have value. That is true. If we surf the Internet, we know that not all sites have great monetary value either. Google and Amazon are worth a fortune; Sally Smith Homesteading, not so much.
That does not mean that Sally's site is not valuable to those who are loyal followers. It might be a small group in number, but the information could be a basis for their lives.
Thus, most can have value depending upon the use case.
By adopting a system that is decentalized, the masses have the ability to participate. For too long, the financial and economic arenas were set up in such a way where only a few were able to benefit on a large scale.
Scarcity created a host of problems for humanity. It left people constantly taking from others. This was usually done with vast armies invading other lands. There was little innovation, just a lot of pillaging.
We are still at a point where much of the world operates on closed systems. That is changing. Open source is providing the world with knowledge to develop outside the inner circles of Silicon Valley. Financially, we are seeing a shift away from the control residing with the bankers on Wall Street. Many industries went that way once the Internet came into being. Video use to be controlled by major movie and broadcast company. Now, anyone with a smartphone is a video creator.
I do not think most people realize what is going to be generated going forward. A technology such as virtual reality will create hundreds of billions (if not trillions) in virtual assets. Call it digital real estate or whatever, there will be serious money laid out for anything that is considered "prime" in that realm.
What is the digital asset "Amazon.com" worth?
The Internet is becoming a larger part of our lives. As we conduct more activity on this mechanism, the entire world shifts. Since it is not limited by the physical world (outside computing processing power), innovation and expansion take place at a more rapid pace. We can see this with software updates. They come much quicker than a new laptop design.
It is imperative that everyone start the process of participating. One of the reasons I am so optimistic about cryptocurrency is I see a foundation being laid which will allow entry, for the masses, into a different economic system. Having the means will start to enable people to partake in the future wealth generation, something traditionally limited to only a few.
What will the world look like with 2B or 3B crypto wallets instead of 50M?
How much of your worth is now in cryptocurrency? Is it 1%? 5%? All of it?
No matter the answer, anyone who is active in cryptocurrency has a portion of his or her holdings in it. This is much different than a decade ago when it did not exist. Financial planners are already talking about the idea that large portfolios should have 1%-2% exposure to cryptocurrency. They are part of the old system so that is not surprising.
The simple truth, as I see it, is crypto is an opportunity for many to accumulate their share of the massive wealth that will be generated over the next couple decades. Tokenization is just getting started and people will have the opportunity to get involved with many projects they are optimistic about.
We are already seeing this to a small degree on Steem-Engine. What do you do with those tokens that are airdropped or simply show up in your account? Some hold, others sell. For those who sell, what are they doing? Effectively, when one does this, he or she is opting for another token over this one. The choice comes down to project A versus project B.
Now billionfold this same idea.
Imagine billions of people doing the same thing with hundreds of millions of tokens, each representing a different project. Two of project A tokens get swapped for .01 of a project B token since the later is much more viable. Rinse and repeat, millions of times a day.
This is what I foresee as crypto expands. The more tokens that end up in people's wallets, the more it will grow. The Internet, over the course of about two decades, penetrated the world of shopping. Online sales account for 10% of all retail, a number expected to double over the next decade.
What happens when 10% of the world's transactions are done in cryptocurrency that is in the hands of average people? Suddenly, the access to the wealth being generated is available to a lot more than just the upper tier.
Just consider a project like SingularityNet. Here is a blockchain (along with a token) that was set up to decentralize Artificial Intelligence. In other words, it is trying to bring AI capabilities to the masses. Anyone can log on there, buy a few tokens, and reward the AI creator. This will provide access to the technology which one can then use for his or her purposes.
This is a much different approach as compared to the AI being controlled by a government or some mega-corporation.
Innovation is starting to explode. Hopefully, a lot more people sign on to participate.
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