BLOCKCHAINS – CAPTURING THE VALUE THEY CREATE
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lockchain protocols are merely software that anyone, anywhere in the world can run, permitting individuals to interact with others running that same piece of software. They don’t require permission to use, cannot be censored and provide a permanent record of truth; qualities providing them the ability to disrupt many industries. The first incarnation of this technology was Bitcoin which can be thought of conceptually as an excel spreadsheet shared between a group of individuals acting as a distributed ledger. When a number of users run this software simultaneously and continuously, the result is the formation of a decentralised network that allows these individuals to transact together (either financially or with data) without having to trust their counterparty. It is a foundational technology that expands the possibilities of human cooperation and economic coordination on the internet. The core invention wasn’t actually Bitcoin itself, but the notion of ‘digital scarcity’. For the first time in history, digital assets could be scarce. Unlike photos and mp3s whereby if Alice were to send Bob one of these files, she would still retain a copy, with Bitcoin, this is impossible. Once Alice send a bitcoin to Bob, she no longer has ownership.
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