Beyond the hype; Blockchain for a difference in LATAM
It was José De San Martín that said “More noise occurs from a single man shouting than a hundred thousand who are quiet” (“Hace más ruido un sólo hombre gritando que cien mil que están callados”), so why don’t we hear about the noise in Latin America?
I’ve been following the LATAM Blockchain space for a while now, mostly as a curious outsider trying to learn and understand better what was going on in the space and region. Actually, one of the first reasons I got interested in Bitcoin back in the day, was after I heard of freelancers in Argentina using bitcoin back in 2011/12 as a payment solution when the economy was in such bad shape. Hyperinflation was bad, the value of the peso was unclear and people were losing the little faith they had in their financial institutions. Many of these freelancers were working with global partners and when you couldn’t bring in or take out USD into the country, a need for an alternative payment was a must and bitcoin was a great solution. Once I read that money changers were riding their scooters around Buenos Aires converting BTC to peso I was convinced.
Nasdaq.com recently published the following: “In a region where more people have smartphones than bank accounts, blockchain technology, and cryptocurrencies represent an opportunity to improve regional financial inclusion.” In regions where mobile penetration is so high (such as Africa and South East Asia), where the local currency is so volatile and the economy is so much based on international trade one might assume that this is where it will all start. People in the industry love tossing around phrases such as “banking the unbanked” and “revolutionizing the industry” but when it comes to LATAM unfortunately, we haven’t seen that mass adoption that might have been expected, and I keep asking myself why?
There are some great projects coming out of the region,don’t get me wrong, some leaders in the space (Kudos to the Buenos Aires community that has already made such a good name for itself), but eventually when we look at key figures in the industry and leading projects, we see them lead by the suits and the “evangelists” coming from Silicon Valley, London and Seoul- There’s nothing new under the fiat sun.
While traveling to South America and visiting blockchain projects and communities I was so happy to see so many great initiatives and talent, amazing developers and inspiring entrepreneurs, who understand what innovation and making a difference means, who see the potential of blockchain technology and want to use it for real-life use cases and not for silly dapps that will raise a lot of money and will disappear after two months.
This is the change I aspire to see, these are the communities that will make a difference and to me this is what blockchain was all about.
So why is this current situation like this? The tech is there, the talent is there and the mentality as I learned back in 2012 is very much there, so what’s going on? I still have no answers, I don’t know if factors of stability, aspiration for “traditional business” or just not enough attention or resources assigned from the global community, since after all blockchain is a very much networked industry, that have kept these communities from being the runner-ups of the space.
Carlota Perez, the Venezuelan-British scholar, has been quoted numerous times these past months, and for an excellent reason, about her theory of how technological revolutions occur and what factors are needed for implementation. She outlines in her book in such an accurate manner the reasons from a historic, economic and social perspective, to what is needed in order for mass adoption to happen when new technologies are presented, that keeps me optimistic when it comes to the future of LATAM and blockchain (ok and also about the rest of the world).
LATAM is still on my radar, I follow the news religiously and am still waiting for the disruptive noise. I am certain it will come and I for one want to be part of that uproar!
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