By Igor Pejic, speaker, banker, and author of Blockchain Babel

The hysteria about cryptocurrencies is ebbing. Their value is down by 85% from its peak and no end of the crypto-winter is in sight. And the public disappointment is rubbing off on the technology powering cryptocurrencies – the blockchain. The trend forecast of Gartner Inc., a steady weather vane in the tech world, is a case in point.

The blockchain has been invented a mere 10 years ago
Share on X

In the list of impactful technologies, the blockchain plunged to the bottom last month. Forrester, another research firm, came to a similar conclusion already one year earlier. So did companies implementing it. SWIFT, the network underpinning most of the world’s monetary transactions, said blockchain was not yet ready for mainstream use, despite a successful proof-of-concept test. The reason: operational challenges when scaling.

In Gartner's list of impactful technologies, the blockchain plunged to the bottom last month
Share on X

Media and tech vendors alike have fueled a frenzy that gorged on stories of early crypto-millionaires, overblown claims of disruption, and a deep anti-banking sentiment. This mania has been sustained by pernicious myths such as the equalization of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, or the belief the blockchain would rid the world of all institutions of trust. Research and consulting firms kept claiming the technology is closer to its break-out moment every day, while the big bang has stayed away. Is the blockchain just a placebo that made us feel better about the future of finance without actually offering a cure?

SWIFT, the network underpinning most of the world’s monetary transactions, said blockchain was not yet ready for mainstream use
Share on X

Innovation patterns, observable from historic example, are the best predictor of a technology’s trajectory. The first lesson is that benefits do not accrue overnight. Only thirty years after the electric motor made its debut in factories did productivity rise. It took a new generation of managers to fully grasp its potential and make not only changes to the machinery, but also to business processes. The blockchain has been invented a mere 10 years ago, as the mechanism enabling bitcoin. Years passed until the technology was isolated from the currency-idea.

Media and tech vendors alike have fueled a frenzy that gorged on stories of early crypto-millionaires
Share on X

From there it was long way until the more efficient, centralized models – usually referred to as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) – conquered the mainstream. While the public pressure for disruptive results is higher today than in the age of the electric motor, it does not change the fact that each new technology must pass all three stages – fluid, transitional, and specific. An intense phase of search for the right product design is incumbent before embarking on efficiency gains.

Is the blockchain just a placebo that made us feel better about the future of finance without actually offering a cure?
Share on X

Yet the introduction of the ATM offers the most striking parallel to blockchain’s path. Technologically, the 1960-ies resembled today’s world. Computers and online were the fuzzy buzz-words rather than blockchain, but the same talk about radical disruption had hijacked public debate, accompanied by the same lack of specificity. Citicorp pioneered the idea that machines for cash withdrawal would change banking.

The introduction of the ATM offers the most striking parallel to blockchain’s path
Share on X

The journey to implementation was long and fraught with difficulties. Tech-incumbents refused to cooperate, inertia suffocated in-house initiatives and setting up an independent company flopped. Eventually, Citicorp succeeded only when it partnered with a small IT-firm in Los Angeles. Once the on-line transaction processing network was built, the question was how to give customers access to this new magic machines. When they were eventually installed in the bank’s branches, skepticism did not abate. Managers found ATMs more expensive than human tellers; employees fretted they would be job-killers. Similar arguments echo around the blockchain.

The hysteria about cryptocurrencies is ebbing. Their value is down by 85% from its peak and no end of the crypto-winter is in sight
Share on X

It took Citicorp years to develop the first ATM and years to make it more efficient than the legacy system of withdrawing money. Yet, when it unfolded the competition did not draw level with Citicorp until the early 1980-ies. The bank’s market share skyrocketed from 4% to over 13%. In 1988 the customer base had tripled as compared to 1977. And the number of branch employees did not drop. On the contrary: In the 11 years it went from 7.100 to 8.400. Miniscule and repetitive tasks were replaced by customer-facing ones, thus making former tellers happier and more profitable.

Legacy systems might still be more efficient than their blockchain alternatives, but the future is a one-way street
Share on X

Blockchain is suffering from public fatigue, but it is already at the stage of working prototypes. The fluid exploration phase is drawing to a close as witnessed by the stark decline in ICOs, the crypto-equivalent of IPOs. The second indication is the avalanche of successful pilots led by incumbents and consortia. From Walmart to Wall Street – an impressive roster of the world’s largest companies have found real-life use cases. Legacy systems might still be more efficient than their blockchain alternatives, but the future is a one-way street. Even SWIFT is opening up again on the blockchain by embracing Corda, a blockchain-protocol preferred by most banks.

Blockchain is suffering from public fatigue, but it is already at the stage of working prototypes
Share on X

MIT anticipates that blockchain will become “boring” in 2019. It is a time of reckoning in which the forlorn initiatives die and the right ones are tweaked. Remittances, clearance, settlement – they are all use cases comparable to the cash machines in Citicorp’s branches. It is only a matter of time until they surpass legacy systems’ efficiency.

MIT anticipates that blockchain will become “boring” in 2019
Share on X

Blockchain Babel: The Crypto-Craze and the Challenge to Business is available now at £14.99

The post Don’t Quit the Blockchain Just Yet appeared first on Tech Trends.

The e-learning industry is booming and set to grow to $244.1 billion by 2022. With all this innovation in the market, the way students interact and control their own learning path is evolving, fast.

Spitball 2.0 has launched a new blockchain-based, tokenized student economy aiming to transform the global education market by merging e-learning with crypto, offering students a trading ecosystem which digitizes many aspects of student life. With Spitball 2.0, students can earn token incentives for completing tasks such as answering questions, sharing study notes and selling items. It gives students a simple and straightforward way to monetize their academic output and enter the crypto space without making an initial cash investment, as the typical mechanics of investing in crypto (setting up a wallet etc.) are managed behind the scenes. The platform also allows students to find and pay for tutors, locate study partners, houses & job listings plus local food and drink deals.

It gives students a simple and straightforward way to monetize their academic output and enter the crypto space
Share on X

Empowering the Global Student Body

Currently, students receive only a small percentage of the revenues earned from their content that online resource platforms monetize. Spitball 2.0 uses the blockchain to connect students directly, lowering costs while giving student content creators fair reward. This creates a winning economy that delivers more value for students. By leveraging the existing Spitball platform, plus over 25 partnerships with leading education providers, such as CourseHero and Chegg, Spitball 2.0 will become a game changer for the edtech industry, unlocking new opportunities for students and investors looking for opportunities in the edtech sector.

Spitball 2.0 will become a game changer for the edtech industry, unlocking new opportunities for students and investors looking for opportunities in the edtech sector
Share on X

Being built on the blockchain and using its own tokens means Spitball 2.0 can deliver a range of compelling benefits for students. Not only protecting the ownership of content creation but maintaining strict privacy and lower costs while increasing earnings for students. By facilitating micro-payments, Spitball 2.0 is a genuine economy where students can seamlessly and simply be rewarded for sharing content, performing tasks or even selling goods.

“Tomorrow’s world depends on today’s students. Despite excellent education on offer and an array of online platforms to support them, students are effectively treated like cash cows. Spitball 2.0 aims to change that and fairly reward them for taking part in student life – learning together, teaching each other and sharing data.” Eidan Apelbaum, Founder and CEO of Spitball, commented

This innovative new platform also provides proof of ownership, securing the intellectual property of every one of its users, thus protecting all of the students who create content. Spitball 2.0’s gamified Student Economy will give students the ability to profit from contributed content, collect rewards based on useful platform actions and invest in other students’ goods and services on a one-stop platform designed to meet the needs of the global student community. This increased activity will create a new depth in the student market, attracting more investment as it sees a significant boost in liquidity.

This innovative new platform also provides proof of ownership, securing the intellectual property of every one of its users, thus protecting all of the students who create content
Share on X

A crypto gateway for a new generation

Spitball 2.0 will also be the gateway into crypto for an entire generation, establishing it as an integral part of their financial future. The SBL token that the platform operates on will be integrated seamlessly into the payments system. Students will not need to create their own wallets manually or convert flat currency to cryptocurrency – the front-end system of the platform will manage the integration, whilst also moving legacy users to the new platform without significant change. Tokens also eliminate the international currency conversion fees that banks charge allowing Spitball 2.0 to be rolled out globally whilst keeping costs to a minimum.

“We believe that cryptocurrencies have a significant place in our future world and Spitball 2.0 will allow students to enter this world easily, setting them up to take advantage of a lifelong capability within this rapidly expanding industry. The tokenized environment is vital as it puts money in the pockets of students, whilst allowing them to build trust amongst their peers.” added Eidan Apelbaum

Students take the reins

Currently, e-learning platforms and other intermediaries take the largest share of the profits either from large transaction fees or costly subscriptions. By Spitball 2.0 lowering the cost of learning services via the blockchain, students can use them more regularly. Instead of using a student resource platform for one-off help with an assignment or paying for an expensive catch up with last week’s lecture notes, the platform can be used as part of a student’s day-to-day life.

Instead of using a student resource platform for one-off help with an assignment or paying for an expensive catch up with last week’s lecture notes, the platform can be used as part of a student’s day-to-day life
Share on X

Through using Spitball 2.0, students around the world will change the way they learn, share information and interact with their peers. It will be cheaper and faster than ever before for them to build a study ecosystem around them, whilst simultaneously benefiting from their own contributions. With the power firmly in their hands, education will flourish to the benefit of those who need it most.

Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Connect on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

The post Spitball – Launching a New Academic Economy appeared first on Tech Trends.

Looking back at this article more than one year on, it’s hard to believe that we’re in an even more confusing position than in those initial chaotic days after the referendum…

Just over a month after Brexit, and we’re in a bit of a deceptive lull. August is traditionally a quiet month in politics, where parliament goes on recess and nothing really gets done. Come September, however, we’re going to have to start dealing with the real consequences of June the 23^rd. The London tech community seems resolutely optimistic, yet there are real concerns emerging around the sector’s ability to retain talent, trade in the single market, and – crucially attract investment.

This morning I had breakfast with an ex-colleague who is now looking for a job. She, alongside 15 others, had just been made redundant at a start-up that had attracted millions of dollars in early seed funding the previous year. Last week that same company fired a third of its employees because their next investment round, which they thought was secured, suddenly fell through. It was the day after Brexit. Coincidence? Perhaps. But perhaps not.

One tech company fired a third of its workforce when investment fell through after Brexit
Share on X

There has been so much post-referendum analysis on what might/should/could/will/won’t happen that the only certainty has become uncertainty itself. And that’s certainly not good for business. As an investor risk comes as part of the package, but in a fiercely competitive funding marketplace, all other things being equal, they will invariably pick the safest-looking bet, and from that perspective it’s hard to argue that the looming cloud of Brexit hasn’t placed the UK at a disadvantage.

Brexit uncertainty places UK companies at a disadvantage when bidding for investment
Share on X

For one, it is a truth universally acknowledged that start-ups are only worth as much as the calibre of talent they manage to attract. What they make and what they sell is purely intellectual property, and therefore hinges on their – for want of a better term – “Brain Bank”.

Now visit any London start-up and I challenge you not to lose count of how many nationalities make up those teams. That diversity is also part of what makes the ecosystem so vibrant and creative. EU freedom of movement meant that entrepreneurs could bring in talent from 28 different countries without going through lengthy and expensive immigration procedures. This ability, which allowed them to scale in an agile way, could be severely hampered in future.

Brexit could hamper our ability to attract tech talent to the UK
Share on X

An aspiring entrepreneur – who wishes to remain anonymous – approached me after reading my original Brexit article on The Next Web and asked me for some advice. He is a European national who has been living and working in the UK for the past 3 years, and was just on the verge of starting his own business. After the Brexit vote, however, he decided to delay that move, unsure as to what impact it would have on his residency status and his ability to run a company in the UK:

“Would I eventually get kicked out or have to apply for a visa in an Australian point-based skill/salary immigration system if I am CEO of a London-based business?”

As much as wanted to help him find some answers, the honest truth is, I have no idea what’s in store for the 3.6 million EU citizens currently living in the UK. Even if the process of triggering Article 50 (which would actually start the Brexit process) drags on for years as many expect, it is estimated that over half a million people would still fall short of the required 5 years to qualify for residency.

I came to this country as a European citizen myself, and have lived and worked in the UK for over a decade now. Two years ago I applied for British citizenship and even did the hilarious – and mandatory – “Life in the UK” test which is pretty much a bad pub quiz. I never really thought that I’d need that passport in order to remain in the country, but now I’m glad I beat the rush. In such turbulent times for the economy, the only sector guaranteed explosive growth in the coming years is citizenship testing.

The only sector guaranteed explosive growth in the coming years is citizenship testing.
Share on X

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio and @techtrends_tech on Twitter.

The post Another Summer of Uncertainty as UK Tech Sector Braces for #BREXIT appeared first on Tech Trends.