Web3 Series: Blockchain’s Recurring Hype Cycle
The hallmark of this revolutionary technology is a series of innovations that persist and disrupt even as the initial fervor dies out.
The Gartner Hype Cycle is the business standard for framing expectations around new technology. It captures the evolution from early visions of utopia to the inevitable disappointment that follows until its gradual acceptance as a tool with certain practical uses, despite its failure to serve as a panacea for all economic ills.
Blockchain has been no exception to the roller coaster of expectations that often define new innovations. The original blockchain hype was triggered in 2008 upon the release of the Bitcoin white paper, which described a method for facilitating peer-to-peer financial transactions across an online distributed ledger without the need for a governing third party to keep the system in check.
From Bitcoin’s inception, enthusiasts touted the digital cash system’s potential as an eventual world reserve currency beyond the control of any government. When practical reality set in, Bitcoin fell short of dethroning…
