It is rather comical to read some comments around the web that are put up by people who genuinely have no clue about what is going on. I even saw today how cryptocurrency is "tulip-mania" (remember that one?).
Being a student of technological trends, it helps to provide clarity to what is going to be taking place. I amuse myself when I see people trying to apply logic that works in different areas to this realm. It is a completely different world. At the same time, we all know those who specialize in "noise pollution"; those are people who talk like they are knowledgeable about a topic yet did zero research.
Obviously, convincing someone like this about the merits of blockchain and cryptocurrency is a waste of time. Most are going to be closed-minded since the FUD is harsh, consistent, and scathing. That is okay. As I wrote yesterday, we are in a major "bull" market with this technology even if the Wall Street casino is not on board.
Here is a scenario which shows that cryptocurrency is not going anywhere.
An individual goes online and orders a pair of Adidas sneakers from Amazon. The order is processed by Amazon along with receiving a scan of the person's foot. Payment is made by billing whatever is on file (credit card, crypto wallet).
The system, armed with the location of the customer, goes to find a print shop closest to this person. Using the decision tree programmed into it, the system is able to rank the three different printers who meet the requirements. Upon selecting one, the order is sent to that print shop.
The print shop receives the order and its system is ready to print out the shoe. Of course, since this is a brand name product, the system has to download the file to print out from Adidas' site. It downloads the file, loads up the printer, and creates the shoes.
A robot picks up the completed shoes, boxed them up, and put them on a drone for delivery to the backseat of one's car.
I added the last part in jest (or maybe not).
This is how automation along with localized manufacturing is going to look. There is one piece I left out of the equation: payment.
After the individual pays Amazon, payment needs to be made both to the printing company and Adidas. Since this is all going to be on blockchain, payment needs to be made in cryptocurrency. It might be a specialized token like a PRNT coin or they could use one of the major ones. Either way, I can tell you it will not be USD or EUR that is used to make the payment.
Another scenario.
One's medical information is placed on the blockchain. The reason for this is so one's doctor can have access to the data in real time. Since the files are continually monitored by some type of AI, we have up to the moment readings. Any changes that are deemed major will place an immediate alert. It is highly possible the system will give the individual the different steps to take.
Since this data is on the blockchain, researchers are going to want to access it. This is going to cost them. The value of the data is going to depend upon the type of research being done and how it compares to what one has. For example, a diabetic might get paid more for the data than those who are in the control group.
Once again, like the previous example, dollars and euros are not going to be used here. The researchers are not going to send out $50 bills. Cryptocurrency will be the method of payment.
We can go into hundreds of examples like this. Collectively, we have not even scratched the surface with all that will be done in this arena. The ideas are just starting to flow.
For this reason, cryptocurrency is not going away. We will see the creation of hundreds of thousands of tokens over time, serving all different kinds of applications. Some will be very narrow in focus and might have little value. Others will be created for nothing more than branding. A few will catch on and absolutely explode in usage.
The point is that a great deal of the utility of blockchain is non-existent without cryptocurrency. Many like to proclaim that blockchain is of value while cryptocurrency is nothing (usually a banker). The reality is that neither can really exist without the other. To maximize blockchain's ability, cryptocurrency is required.
So it ultimately comes down to does one believe that blockchain will be a cause for change or is it just hype?
I think anyone who spends some time researching the topic will quickly conclude that there is a valid reason for believing this will bring about massive change.
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