The success of Bitcoin was a monumental shift in the world. Few realize the impact because it occurred on a relatively limited basis. Even today, when taken against the entire financial system, cryptocurrency is just a drop in the bucket.
However, the introduction of something viable was revolutionary. It was an orderly step forward in the progression of money. It also was a power that few even realize today.
Basically, the Internet came to money.
This was a profound moment because we suddenly had one of the most powerful innovations in human history entering this essential realm. Throughout the centuries we saw the evolution of money. The Internet offers probably the biggest step forward we ever saw in this area.
After more than a decade, we are still trying to grasp with the power before us. However, we have nearly 30 years showing us what happens when the Internet enters the house.
In this article we will discuss the long term implications and how it will affect society going forward.
The Lesson Of The Internet
The World Wide Web popped up in the early 1990s. Since that time, we saw a massive expansion in this thing we call the Internet. There are an estimated 5.25 billion users connected digitally. People originally used personal computers to access this medium. Then we saw the introduction of laptops. And finally, mobile sent things flying into the stratosphere.
In the developed nations (and many undeveloped), people can access the Internet from wherever they are. This was a radical, Sci-Fi based notion only 20 years ago.
This naturally had a tremendous impact upon business. Industries were completely disrupted, something we take for granted. A quarter of a century ago, the business world looked much different.
People were not buying cars online. Nor were we getting our music from here. Entertainment went through traditional channels.
We saw four major areas that were completely interrupted:
- information
- music
- video
- communication
- retail
The fallout is still being felt in some of these areas.
What we can garner from them is two things happened:
- abundance was achieved
- mass destruction for companies in this industries
This is what the Internet does when it comes to an industry. Now it is embarking upon the world of money.
Consider the fact that we have near unlimited options in each area mentioned above. Basically, we have enough options that could last multiple lifetimes.
As for the business that dominated those realms, many are no longer around. Think of Blockbuster, record companies, map makers, long distance phone service, and thousands of retailers.
The lesson is clear.
The Internet Has Come To Money
Now the Internet is honing in on money and the associated fields tied to it. Let us reiterate the results we see.
- abundance
- mass disruption
This might be hard to comprehend but this is exactly what is occurring. Some take exception when we discuss ideas in the realm of quadrillions yet that is what the history of the Internet is. Why does anyone think it will be different with money?
The traditional entities have reason to be concerned. It is likely that many of them will not survive the decade. As the foundation expands, people are going to opt for other services. Just like Netflix took Blockbuster's customers away, DeFi will disrupt the financial services industry. This is a given since we saw this play out on numerous occasions.
Historically, we see how technology allows more people to be involved. This is especially true in the digital world.
Let us look at video. How many people are generating video content these days? At the same time, how many are being compensated in some way? To answer this, let us roll back the clock 40 years ago.
During that period, if one wanted to record a video, studio time with expensive cameras was needed. This immediately eliminated most people. We also saw the need for highly trained personnel to run the equipment. Once completed, editors were required. After that was done, distribution of physical tapes was undertaken.
Contrast that with today where people can record video on their phone and upload it for free to a platform like YouTube. While the percentage overall are not making money, the number of people who are compared to 40 years ago skyrocketed.
Not surprising, so has the amount of video we have access to, most of it for free.
Now consider the fact that almost anyone can create money.
Tokenization Changes Everything
We are ultimately talking about a new value capture system. Tokenization allows us to quantify value in ways we never did before.
This is revolutionary because it allows people to decide what they will reward. The old model of being compensated by a company based upon their judgments (reviews) of your performance are dwindling.
Web 3.0 is ushering in new concepts whereby money, value, rewards, and compensation are all being upended. Of course, we cannot overlook the fact that social media and finance are merging.
The last point is worthy of a bit of explanation. Since tokenization allows us to monetize anything, social media activity is seeing this transition. Here is where we see the abundance happening. We know this realm expands greatly each year. Since it is monetized, money will go along with it.
It is vital to understand the digital world is near limitless. Unlike the physical realm, we see the Internet expanding in many different ways. All metrics point to the same end: massive growth.
Think about all the services that provide value available online. Next, ponder how much more will be available over the next decade. This medium is not contracting in any way. Hence, the value delivered will keep growing.
Here is where money enters. It is the tool that allows for that. Suddenly we are dealing with a near limitless medium whereby money creation can take place at any level. Again, we saw this with many other industries which were disrupted by the Internet. The same thing is happening with money.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain are powerful forces. We are just starting to comprehend the enormous potential of this. Tokenization is going to bring humanity to a completely new level. There is no doubt Web 2.0 altered how we interacted and communicated. It also radically changed the flow of information along with the sharing of video and audio. Notice how this affected all the industries mentioned.
Money is no different. In fact, it cannot help but to follow the same path.
When the Internet enters an industry, it destroys whatever is standing there and generates abudnance.
We have near 30 years of history in this area.
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