Like anything new and revolutionary, cryptocurrency has its believers and its skeptics.
Both are making a ruckus.
The mainstream press isn’t helping matters. As far as I can tell, it’s gamified the subject. The side – whether it’s pro or con – with the most quotes published wins.
What a load of rubbish! We all know that multiple opinions expressing the same point of view do not represent “proof,” no matter how passionately they’re expressed.
And it sure does make for a noisy room.
Is the technology real? Does it have legs? Is it disruptive, if not revolutionary?
Here’s the thing. I’m not interested in your opinion.
Don’t tell me. Show me.
It’s pretty simple. Are you blowing the technology off? Or are you actively exploring or developing it?
Sorry, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, you can’t say it’s a fraud and also have your bank adopt it.
That’s just utter nonsense.
A more valid exercise is to note what potential users of blockchain technology are doing.
And what better sector to hone in on than our antiquated global financial system where billions of people move trillions of dollars every day.
Remarkably, cost, speed, and security are about the same now as they were 50 years ago. The major innovations have been in convenience, thanks to the ATM and advances in online banking.
But ATM use can come with fees. And online banking still has some surprising bugs. I recently found this out firsthand after learning that the online account balance I see is different from the online account balance my bank (PNC) sees. Totally confusing.
Global trade and cross-border payments are also surprisingly clunky. For example, letters of credit involve several banks, hefty fees, and long waits. When I ran my global trade and finance business about a decade ago, I avoided the wait by doing something called “import factoring.” It cost me a precious 2% to 3% to get the cash quickly, but it was worth it.
