Our Blockchain
Based Future

Jamie Skella 2019 linkedin.com/in/jamieskella · skella.com.au
  1. 1What is blockchain?
  2. 2Bitcoin vs Ethereum
  3. 3Smart contract business models
  4. 4The Ethereum Enterprise Alliance
  5. 5Cryptoassets and ICOs

What is blockchain?

The Bitcoin logo, marking 2009 when Bitcoin launched.

Blockchain is a distributed database. New transactions are grouped into blocks along a linear "chain".

In simpler terms: Blockchain is a record book, synchronised across thousands of computers. Transactions are line items.

Line items do not need to represent currency.

A retro television, a metaphor for a technology whose real uses were not yet obvious.

Bitcoin vs Ethereum

Bitcoin = could buy a house outright. Ethereum = could repay a mortgage over a variable time, with interest.

Thanks to its smart contracts, Ethereum is effectively becoming the "Internet of Agreements". No middleman required.

A paper contract beside a smart contract written in code.

Smart contract business models

MiVote, a blockchain voting platform. mivote.com.au
Sia, decentralised cloud storage. sia.tech
Ujo Music, blockchain music rights and royalties. ujomusic.com
Power Ledger, peer-to-peer energy trading. powerledger.io

The Ethereum Enterprise Alliance

The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance connects enterprises, startups, and vendors to build upon Ethereum and define enterprise-grade software.

A wall of Enterprise Ethereum Alliance members, including Microsoft, Intel, Santander, ING, BP, Toyota, Samsung SDS and Deloitte.

Cryptoassets and ICOs

Deloitte predict at least 10% of global GDP being stored on Blockchain platforms by 2025.

The total market cap of cryptoassets is now bigger than the GDP of most countries.

  • $10 billion: 7 years
  • $20 billion: 1 year later
  • $40 billion: 3 months later
  • $80 billion: 3 weeks later
Bar chart of ICO raise amounts climbing steeply through 2017.

Where to from here?

A Forbes article comparing the state of blockchain to the internet of the mid-1990s.
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