Creative Disruption in the Crypto World
By Melis on The Capital
An attribute that has enabled humans to thrive is our ability to spot patterns. Pattern spotting is also a job for economists: Trading on the basis of financial charts, following trends in leading economic indicators, and connecting the dots between progressive qualitative events. Patterns are ubiquitous throughout daily life, extend far beyond the economic/financial world, and influence the lives of countless individuals every day.
Individuals and organizations alike continuously seek out patterns across data sets, often seeking to establish a narrative (or dispel one). The tendency to do so arises even if no overarching narrative yet exists, and that in turn highlights one of the most important facets of how new value is created: the inclination to capitalize upon uncertainties.
That unique ability provided the foundations for agriculture, settlement, metalworking, mining, commerce, medicine, technological development, and a host of other activities that are unique to humankind. Some ideas, not least of which are some of the most important ones, seem particularly immune to pattern analysis.
Innovation Breaks the Pattern
The idea of innovation or disruptive innovation (creative destruction) is so widely repeated that it has become a cliche, but even with this repetition many organizations struggle to consistently harness innovation.
There is a scene in The Social Network (2011) that depicts early discussions among founders regarding what would ultimately become Facebook. In one, whether or not to pursue advertising is debated on the grounds that it may sterilize or cheapen the user experience. Whether or not that exchange actually took place, the answer from the more experienced tech mentor — “You don’t even know what the thing is yet” — is a revealing insight that even many innovators don’t anticipate. A product or service may, even in its minimum viable product form, display or embody a degree of nagging ambiguity.
Many products that are now household names were originally invented for different — sometimes very different — purposes: Coca-Cola, Listerine, Play-Doh, bubble wrap, the microwave, and perhaps most famously, Viagra. There is no crystal ball available to any product-development specialist, scientist, or marketer that can predict just what use cases will be embraced by the marketplace. Additionally, even long-established innovations continue to find applications far beyond their original intent or focus.
Consider the rapidly changing bitcoin and cryptoasset sector, which continues to experience growing and skepticism.
Enters Bitcoin
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies may be occupying the tech business headlines, but it is highly likely that we are nowhere near the end state or full realization of the use of these technologies. It is fundamentally impossible to forecast with any accuracy which of a myriad of known, unknown, and possibly unknowable use cases will rise to the surface as the crypto ecosystem (and, critically, the world around it) develops. Stepping back from the seemingly endless debates between maximalists, competitionists, and proponents of increased centralization provide much-needed context.
The evolution of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has seized the narrative among market participants, institutional investors, and newer innovators because these currencies conform to the patterns and cycles of disruptive innovation and bear similarities to historically established frameworks. The idea that crypto will improve and possibly disrupt fiat currency with a purportedly superior technological solution is drawn from the narrative of the author of the original white paper and most, if not all, of the early adopters and users; and indeed, new products and services that improve upon incumbents often result in disruption.
Cryptoassets may be the blockchain application that most frequently comes to mind, but there are several other facets of the technology that potentially could have a larger impact. Crypto wallets were designed with the storage of cryptocurrencies in mind, but that is not predictive of what use case will ultimately prevail. For example, Melis wallet offers a complete set of features that join together simplicity, safety and a wide range of customization. In fact, Melis represents a remarkable evolution in the crypto wallet world because allows users to manage directly their cryptocurrencies, without intermediaries; to customize transactions, from a simple one to and advanced one; to add several layers of security, thanks to spending limits, hidden accounts, multiple 2FAs; to use it in a firm or to manage a family balance, because Melis is muli-user and multi-signature; to prove ownership without intermediaries; etc. Moreover, more developments and improvements are still underway…
It would be a fascinating (and not an unprecedented) twist to look forward years or decades to find that cryptocurrencies were only the sideshow in what was (is) an unintended, largely undetected evolutionary process toward better and more decentralized data storage and sharing apps. And let’s not forget asset tokenization.
Taking it a step further, is it too far-fetched to see a future in which creators, aggregators, and users of digital media or information are compensated? Strange though this might seem, that is exactly what the Brave browser is attempting with a combination of blockchain and native platform tokens. Intellectual property has taken many forms with the rise of YouTube and other distributors, but the monetization of original content normally still remains under the control of a central host or platform. What if a blockchain-augmented social platform and network could enable the compensation of creators directly without the restrictions, limits, and bureaucracy of a centralized entity?
Speaking of spotting patterns early, South Korea, Kerala and Philippines are becoming more and more crypto-friendly, understanding what huge potential has still to show crypto industry. In a world where governments will do whatever they can to survive one more day, and that means increasing taxation and bureaucracy, the knowledge of better places where to live will be crucial.
Conclusion
Forecasts of demise or supremacy, whether in the bitcoin/crypto space or any other, are essentially always premature and miss both the nuance and randomness of the innovation and adoption process. Innovation rarely follows a straight path, and more often it follows no distinct pathway at all. The uses (intended and unintended), successes, and failures of ideas are determined step-by-step via the individuals and organizations that develop, disseminate, and use the products; and that, despite parallels drawn to historical examples, tends strongly toward unconscious, methodless, and at times counterintuitive advancement.
Innovation rarely (and despite all appearances) follows a pre-ordained path, but rather it progresses in fits and starts, inevitably and invariably bending to the feedback and the will of the marketplace; and we are all better off for it.
