Future industry trends: blockchain technology that you must know

Companies around the world are cultivating and exploring innovative technologies. In the next 10 years, these innovative technologies will bring great changes to our lives, change the way companies operate, and reshape the global economy. This is the view of罗斯•亚历克, author of The Industries of the Future, who served as an innovation consultant to former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and is an outstanding visiting researcher at Johns Hopkins University. Blockchain, as one of the most popular innovative technologies at present, has also been praised by Ross Alec. The following is a series of views on blockchain technology expressed by Ross Alec in an interview with the media.

You describe so many technologies in your book. Which ones should CIOs and other C-level executives prioritize? Which ones are more important?

AR:

I think it depends on the field you are in. But for CIOs or other senior executives in the IT industry, blockchain is a technology that must be understood. Bitcoin was initially seen as an anarchic currency, and then as a speculative asset. As time goes by, Bitcoin has developed for 8 years, and now we have discovered that the real breakthrough innovation of Bitcoin is blockchain technology (the underlying technology of Bitcoin).

Blockchain technology will enable disintermediation in many areas. Blockchain technology…can alleviate the huge costs and litigation expenses incurred in legal proceedings. The costs incurred here will become someone else's profit. I also think that banks and financial services can significantly improve their service levels by integrating blockchain technology.

One of the things I predicted in the book is happening: Goldman Sachs recently filed a patent to create its own digital currency for settling foreign transactions and assets (from issuing securities to wire transfers, etc.). This is really a walled garden approach to blockchain technology. Goldman Sachs is the poster child for Wall Street. So seeing Goldman Sachs moving in this direction, I think it's a sign of something that's about to happen.

You mentioned blockchain in the legal space. What does that look like?

AR:

In 2014, my wife and I bought a house. The process was the same as when my parents bought a house in the 70s: one lawyer, two legal documents (each about 9 inches high), and about 50 signatures. Over $10,000 in fees. The process of transferring property in the United States has remained the same for 100 years. Blockchain can guarantee that our transactions are 99.999% accurate. So with the help of blockchain, we no longer need a guy (lawyer) sitting at a conference table with a 9-inch high document in front of him, paying over $10,000 in transaction fees and going through the hassle of signing 50 documents for two hours. We can complete the process with just a few clicks.

Not only are fees bad for the buyer, but the seller doesn't get any benefit from it. Who gets benefit? The person in between the seller and the buyer. So... in a blockchain-powered marketplace, a transaction that might be $12,000 or $13,000 today will be reduced to $120, and a transaction that takes six weeks today will be reduced to six hours.

How long do you think this will take to achieve?

AR:

I think it will take about three to five years. Because there is already a lot of venture capital entering this field, such as smart contracts. This technology is developing and maturing, and related companies are also being established. They need one to three years to realize the productization and commercialization of the technology and enter the market. It will take another three to five years for it to enter the mainstream market.

So you think all of these intermediaries today will be replaced?

AR:

Yes. I think so. On the one hand, blockchain technology will replace all the individuals and institutions that previously provided settlement services. Of course this will hurt the banks, title companies and lawyers who benefit from the $12,000 transaction fees, but it will also benefit the buyers and sellers who actually participate in the market.

So how should CIOs talk to CEOs or partners about this?

AR:

It’s time for geeks to educate non-geeks about what’s going to change in the future. There were a lot of interesting conversations between technologists and senior management in the 1990s about this crazy thing called the Internet, so there needs to be interesting conversations between technologists and management today and tomorrow about everything from big data to… blockchain technology.

In the 1990s, it was rare for executives to have computers on their desks. …..Gradually, almost every executive in corporate America has realized the power of digitalization. Those who understood it early have adapted to the changing times and succeeded in the competition. So with so many new technologies, these are opportunities. The sooner non-technical executives understand tomorrow's technology, the better off their companies will be. Get out of your comfort zone and meet the challenge.

Original article: http://searchcio.techtarget.com/feature/Blockchain-technology-to-disrupt-financial-legal-fields
By Sue Troy
Translator: printemps
Editor: printemps
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/industries-of-future)