How Blockchain is building a future you want to be a part of?
There’s a lot of hype in the public sphere over Bitcoin, but there’s a more exclusive community discussing the potential of the technology that makes Bitcoin possible: Blockchain. It may not have all the public attention just yet, but blockchain is the future the way the internet was the future in the mid-90s and the way smartphones became the future with the release of the first iPhone.
And just as it was with those technologies, you’ll have a bigger advantage in the Blockchain game the sooner you start playing. Sure, you think, people are bragging about Blockchain all the time, but isn’t that just geeks getting excited about geeky stuff? What’s so amazing about blockchain that everyone else needs to know about it and get involved?
Well, if Blockchain is just a geek’s pastime, the geeks will soon run the world. Because Blockchain isn’t just about creating isolated cryptocurrencies that can’t be used in the real-world market — it’s about changing the way we manage just about everything. We’ve worked with Blockchain-based companies with innovative plans to use the technology to completely upend fields as diverse as HR, international trade, and gaming.
Without going into the technical details of how Blockchain is actually structured and functions, the technology is transformative for so many industries because of its key characteristic of decentralization. This offers several key advantages for whatever industry Blockchain is being applied to:
- Security — Information is currently being centralized, or stored in one place by those who collect it. That’s why a hacker who successfully infiltrates a company’s database can compromise the credit cards or even identities of thousands of people. While Blockchain still has room for improvement, it makes this sort of attack virtually impossible, but storing information on countless servers all at once. For the foreseeable future at least, there is no way to manipulate so many separate computers all at once.
- No middleman — The advanced technology that keeps information in sync across so many servers also eliminates the need for the trusted middleman that we currently rely on to verify most transactions. Think of a bank that takes days to verify an international transfer of cash. They perform that role as a trusted institution and can oversee and guarantee the process, but Blockchain does that work all on its own, making things faster and cheaper. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin don’t go through banks because they don’t need them.
- Transparency — Thanks to Blockchain’s ability to store and process information in such a decentralized fashion, information can’t be tampered with. While defending against hackers, this also creates a permanent history of transactions are easily accessible for observation. You wouldn’t be smart to fund illegal activity on the Blockchain.
As we can see, Blockchain is no strange fad but a technology with the potential for systematic upheaval across the board. So, how do you get involved? What part can you play in developing and benefiting from the technology of the future? There are three main players in the Blockchain game, each with their own set of unique benefits and incentives:
- ICOs — These are essentially new companies, most of whom feature a Blockchain-based product, that decide to raise funds by creating an selling a unique cryptocurrency rather than going through investors. It’s a very effective form of crowdfunding called an Initial Coin Offering. If you’ve got an entrepreneurial mind and a great idea, this is the perfect way to influence the evolution of Blockchain by using in a unique way to meet a need in the market. ICOs can be labor-intensive in the beginning, but extremely rewarding in the long run.
- Tech participants — One layer out from an ICO, you’ll always find a group of tech participants — often highly dedicated believers in Blockchain and specific products — who form a community around an ICO. They help perform certain tasks that ICOs need doing. Sometimes it’s complex like finding bugs in the code, but often it’s as simple as spreading the word by sharing posts on social media. These individuals are rewarded for their efforts in various cryptocurrencies that they can exchange for cash or spend on certain products.
- Investors/users — Most people fall into this category. The great part is that with Blockchain, users and customers are investors. When you purchase or otherwise accrue cryptocurrency tokens created by an ICO, you’re investing in that business and in a way, you hold a small stake in its worth. Each token has a real-world value and cryptocurrency exchanges are constantly becoming more open and easier to manage. That means that will interacting with Blockchain and/or an ICO, you’re working with tangible wealth that will rise with the success of the company that created it.
There’s endless opportunity in Blockchain at the moment since we’ve really only scratched the surface of what the technology is capable of. In another 10 or 20 years, who knows where we’ll be? But Blockchain is sure to be part of that future. That’s why we at Emissary Guild got into the Blockchain game: we want to be a part of shaping that future.
