Blockchain’s Killer App
Over the last several months of going way down the rabbit hole of blockchain technology and other Decentralized Ledger Technologies, I’ve really started to understand the application potential. After attending a few conferences, I’ve also come to understand that it is still such a nascent technology that 99.9% of people don’t have any idea what it is (I have no factual basis for that number, but I bet I could prove it is too low through a rudimentary poll).
Sometimes when I try to discuss Blockchain, I get blank stares. Occasionally my conversation partner will say something about Bitcoin and the bubble.
Besides the wild price swings and stories of hacks, crypto millionaires, guys from accounting that tell you you should have gotten in when they did, Blockchain is still looking for a Killer App.
What is a Killer App
The Killer App is the real world application of the technology that will lead to wide scale adoption. The Internet’s first Killer App was email (although I could also argue that it was porn). Once we all had the ability to send messages immediately, without the need for a stamp, we were hooked. It was even acceptable to have poor grammar, and even worse manners.
The Killer App for the smartphone might have been messaging, but I can also argue that it would be the camera. We have a great digital SLR camera we got as a gift when our daughter was born. We haven’t even pulled it out of the closet in a few years, but I have thousands of pictures of her on my phone. My phone is actually a camera and photo storage system, that also allows me to message. No one really uses them to talk anymore.
So now, what is that App, or Apps, for Blockchain?
It can be argued that Bitcoin is already the Killer App. The application that started it all, allows you to buy, sell, and send money anywhere in the world, anytime, with privacy and transparency.
There is an even greater possibility that the Smart Contract is the Killer App. I can put a program on the Blockchain, which will be executed based on some outside factor, at a given time, and it can’t be changed unless I write another Smart Contract to nullify the first. Very powerful, and definitely ground-breaking.
My Opinion — Micro-Payments
My front runner for the Killer App, however, is the micro-payment. Micro-payments can be made via cryptocurrency, to any wallet, without the need for intermediaries like banks or governments.
Micro payments obviously sit on top of other Blockchain innovations like Smart Contracts, Crypto Currencies, ICO, STO, etc. They will usually be reliant on oracles and IoT devices as well. However Micro-Payments will make Blockchain truly revolutionary. Micro-payments make it possible for me to eventually protect my data, but also sell some of it. They will empower entrepreneurs in third-world, even war-torn countries to offer services like Mesh Wifi. They will also make industries like construction, oil & gas, and staffing more efficient.
Unfortunately for some, there will be the elimination of several middlemen, and some headcount in job functions like accounts payable and accounts receivable.
However, the impact of Micro-Payments will start with increased efficiency, but will stretch to the distribution of wealth from first world to third world, the increase in entrepreneurship and jobs creation, and the availability of even more usable data.
Open up your wallets and prepare for the age of the Micro-Payment.
