3 Main Takeaways from Enterprise Blockchain Summit
Last week, the Fr8 Network team attended Enterprise Blockchain Summit, hosted by Rob Bailey of advisory fund MState, where we conversed with Fortune 500s and other notable blockchain professionals on the state of blockchain and cryptocurrency as it relates to enterprise companies. CEO Sloane Brakeville sat on a supply chain and blockchain panel that discussed permissioned systems, interoperability, solution design and more.
Here were the main topics discussed during the summit and our thoughts on these topics.
Aren’t blockchains useless for enterprises since they’re transparent and public?
Permissioned vs. public solutions was a hot topic. Companies are concerned with protecting their valuable assets and the confidential information core to their business model and comparative advantages, something a public blockchain does not offer them. For the Fortune 500s, the most common question is always “Which blockchain?”. Hyperledger is an easy choice for companies looking to provide specific stakeholders with access and capabilities on their blockchain products and platforms as it also offers additional services and resources for companies, making their blockchain transition much smoother.
#Fr8Thoughts: We’re blockchain agnostic and focused on a dual public & permissioned protocol solution that enables companies to plug into that single source of truth during a shipment’s journey while protecting the proprietary data off chain in a one-way fashion, regardless of whether they choose to work with Hyperledger, Ethereum, IOTA, etc. Rather than focusing energy on the competitive landscape when building blockchain products and platforms, we believe that interoperability should be at the forefront of these solutions discussions, especially in supply chain & logistics.
Do consortia simply advance existing profit and power for large companies?
Consortia change is one way to approach blockchain adoption in these multi-stakeholder, multi-solution industries. Some speakers noted that consortia provide platforms for collaboration and industry-wide discussions on developing standards, etc. while others commented such organizations can also be slow to executing those standards and are mainly just self-serving, adding to any existing economic and power gaps between the big dogs and the little guys in these industries. Other panelists shared the perspective that actual adoption should be considered at the individual company level rather than with consortias especially because there are so many companies innovating but few who are actually integrating these innovations with their legacy systems.
#Fr8Thoughts: Without standards, adoption will be slow and difficult regardless of what level we’re targeting. The fear of consortias working for their personal gains rather than for the betterment of an industry as a whole is surely a concern and that’s why we believe they should be consciously architected from the very beginning as neutral, inclusive, and representative organizations. At Fr8 Network, we’ll be incentivizing enterprise companies to build and expand their existing solutions on the Fr8 Protocol, working directly with them to design their blockchain product according to their individual concerns and requirements. We’ll also be heavily promoting the need for connecting and communicating across systems, regions and stakeholders — something we believe benefits everyone involved and something that requires standards.
Is there actual “utility” in these so-called utility tokens?
Multiple panelists noted the lack of real “utility” with utility tokens and that several ICOs are mainly just looking to raise funds instead of creating a token or coin that has any substantial purpose. Some even seemed to think that utility tokens would eventually drop off entirely leaving security tokens and coins such as Ethereum with all the value. For the crypto-enthusiasts and blockchain geeks, the real deal ICO projects are those that have a thoughtful approach to token classification, appreciation, utility and adoption.
#Fr8Thoughts: A blockchain project shouldn’t have a token if it’s providing the kind of value that could come from another technology or existing cryptocurrency. Aside from fundraising, tokens should certainly bring the team and their solutions’ ecosystem and stakeholders added value. In the case of FR8 tokens, we’re using our token to provide access and resources to our Fr8 Protocol, incentivize user adoption, and build out our ecosystem of strategic partners. In both the podcast and article interviews below, our team delves further into our token’s utility and benefits.
Long drive coming up? The Bitcoin Podcast released a Fr8 Network episode this week with co-founders Sloane and Chairman Jon Fox. Learn about our FR8 token utility, their founding stories, and more.
Mark Toner from ThirtyK also sat down with Sloane for an interview last week. Take a gander: you may find that some of your long-time questions have been answered in this piece.
