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Exchanges came about because of the Dutch East India Company. Prior to that, most markets were driven by peer-to-peer trades or something akin to small business operators. People would come together during a time of convenience or in a highly trafficked town. Via carts or on their backs were often things produced by the sellers themselves.
Today's markets rarely resemble anything like these ancient days. The Internet greatly advanced the old Wall Street model. Amazon partners took the lead role. Individuals began owning large quantities of assets within warehouses they did not own, composed of items they did not make.
Blockchain, NFTs and cryptocurrencies both advance Internet markets and return the world to those days of peer-to-peer trades. Take Robinia and Pancake swaps for example. Both platforms make it relatively easy for low volume coins to be hosted on an exchange. Swapping in this way requires little or no regulation, just a connection to the blockchain code.
There's a lot more happening here than what's generally taken for granted. Sure, it's common knowledge around crypto circles that blockchain levels the playing field between global banks and individuals. When we look at NFTs however, the additional decentralization of power away from servers and marketing companies becomes profoundly clear.
Operating on blockchain with crypto as a medium of exchange and supported by decentralized finance, swaps / NFTs are limited only by what individuals can imagine. Creatively programing smart contracts become the challenge of the day.
If one considers either alone, swaps or NFTs, it's easy to miss the big picture. Think of the new online dynamic as small businesses empowered to operate alongside global conglomerates with monopolistic control. Either they act as their own state or trade amongst themselves the way nations do.
Small businesses that use swaps instead of exchanges are empowered in such a way. However, without the ability to exchange assets via NFTs in the same peer-to-peer fashion, limitations to free enterprise remains.
These concepts will likely scare some. Keep in mind that smart contract programs can be written to automate regulatory and legal requirements. The objective then becomes, not exclusion, but that of decided participation.
Robinia and Pancake swap are merely getting started. Like Binance and Coinbase recent launch of NFTs, so too will many more crypto exchanges. Dedicated peer-to-peer markets offer more than Coinbase-type managed service.
After all, would you ever want to give up, or allow someone to take ownership of, even for a moment, of your real world assets. NFTs have already been used to transfer ownership right of real world goods in the digital realm. We've grown accustomed to having money managers, but for large scale and cherished items like a home, that's another story.
Originally posted here.