Blockchain is the technology underlying Bitcoin. The jury is still out on whether Bitcoin will survive or fail, but blockchain is here to stay. It’s essentially a ‘trust algorithm’ that allows you to trust strangers with transactions of value. That all sounds nebulous but the implications are enormous. Essentially, any transaction of value could one day be recorded and facilitated by a self-regulating, hack-proof and inexpensive electronic platform, threatening the entire banking and financial infrastructure in the process. At the same time, it will introduce more than a billion people to financial services and spur economic activity that cannot be supported by today’s banking system.

The interesting thing is that the organizations that are most threatened by blockchain protocol are precisely the ones investing most heavily in its development. They’re all trying to carve out a place in an uncertain future. They’re trying to reduce the probability that they get wiped out entirely. This is accelerating their inevitable fate and spurring innovations that might have remained dormant for years otherwise. You need only look at the venture capital (VC) world to see the enormous investments being made in blockchain startups around the world.

So where will blockchain be implemented first? It’s difficult to say. Entire countries like the Philippines are investing in blockchain to facilitate remittances from expats around the world. Doing so would allow more money to flow back into their local economies. Developing countries, therefore, have huge incentives to build this blockchain infrastructure as quickly as possible. As a result, people in the developed world will have almost no exposure to blockchain until it is already fully developed and operational. The competitive shock will be devastating.

Companies need to be prepared for this impending revolution. By the time the average person has heard about it, it will already be too late for big players to change course. This fight needs to be fought proactively. You need an expectation of the eventual outcome. You need scenarios that you can plan and prepare for. Predicting the impact of blockchain is difficult but Trend Mastery is investing consideration resources to the task. It’s about chasing use cases and following thought leadership, and that’s what we do.

Patrick Schwerdtfeger is a regular keynote speaker and can cover blockchain protocol at your upcoming event. Contact us to check availability for your event date.