Author: CryptoBeyer

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Business & Society

4 Industries that Must Use Blockchain Technology – or Suffer the Consequences

Where blockchain technology is most disruptive is the industry that can benefit the most by this emerging technology. The global financial services sector is worth approximately 20-25% of the world economy and traditional financial businesses are winners when they are using blockchain technology. This technology which is a key component of the fourth industrial revolution can facilitate cross-border payments and an entire decentralized, bank free, financial system is being built. But even the biggest traditional banks regard blockchain technology to be a key component to improve their business.

The enormous global supply chain management industry (worth USD 16.64 billion in 2021) will blossom by using blockchain technology. Blockchain technology can improve the transparency and security of the transportation process and increase efficiency of services. In fact, the entire production process including details about the product and its delivery can be tracked, traced, and validated by a blockchain. This technology ensures that data is not tampered with which increase trustworthiness of the goods and of the cargo company.

A clear winner by using blockchain technology is the medical sector that can use blockchain technology to create secure systems for storing and sharing medical records. To improve public health, medical establishments and governments should seriously consider using blockchain technology to improve the efficiency of healthcare delivery. Any medical staff would argue that one system for the entire medical sector will increase efficiency of treatment and decrease administrational costs. 

Moreover, governments and authorities are using blockchain technology to store and verify digital identification information and to deliver a digital monetary system. This is the biggest area in which blockchain technology may be a severe cause of concern as digital identifications and digital money may infringe on privacy if not properly constructed and managed. But using blockchain technology for digital identification and e-money will be inevitable components of the future and doing it right will be crucial.

Businesses that do not embrace blockchain technology will suffer from less effective, more costly, and less secure services. Traditional cargo companies will be less effective and therefore lose market share to competitors who are evolving and up to date with technology. Public health will suffer due to ineffective healthcare, and problems of lack of financial inclusion will continue. Moving away from paper fiat money and into e-money is a must to function in modern society and blockchain technology is the solution. Businesses will go bust for not following the trend of digitalization of society.

The digital future is already here and only the tech-savvy actor will enjoy the fruits of keeping up with the fourth industrial revolution.

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Business & Society

Why Big Money Get Crypto Mostly Wrong

Things are not as they seem in the investment world. We have a false image of the greatness of venture capital. What is behind all the failing crypto projects and why can’t even venture capital get it right?

In essence venture capital (VC) is a company or investment firm that provide financial support to small, emerging companies with the potential for significant growth. Usually, a venture capital firm get a stake in the company, and they provide additional resources like management expertise and industry connections to help the company succeed. At first glance it sounds like it’s a given success for a small company when they get support from a venture capital firm. It’s a Dragons Den scenario in many ways. However, the success rate of venture capital investments is notoriously low. In fact, 63% of startup failures occur in the tech industry, and 75% of venture capital-backed startups fail. Being successful in business is difficult even with capital and know-how. Blockchain companies face an even tougher road to success.

Since Bitcoin was released the staggering amount of 80,000 blockchain projects have launched. However according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology only 8% of them are still active and the average lifespan is only 1.22 years. Gartner estimates that only 5% of blockchain projects make it to production, and 90% of those will need to be replaced within two years to remain competitive. The statistics give us a sobering view of the crypto industry. We can easily conclude that it’s smart to invest in the biggest crypto projects that have been around for multiple years.

But what are the reasons why blockchain companies struggle?

Firstly, the industry is in an early-stage and lack of adoption is a problem. Many crypto companies are struggling to guide themselves in an unclear regulatory setting. In the US, crypto companies can suddenly be dragged into court by authorities for unclear reasons because the regulatory landscape is still being created. Intense competition between crypto companies is another reason for projects failing. The crypto space is difficult to predict as its still in many ways hype driven and not only the most sound and useful coins win the market race. Funding issues and technological difficulties are also a significant contributor to the fail rate of crypto companies. Few companies survive the freezing cold crypto winter that we are in the middle of. They are forced to cut spending when markets are down, and venture capital is in many ways the only way to succeed. Another likely reason for the huge fail rate in the crypto space is that its surprisingly easy to launch your own crypto token and many unserious people are eager to get their hands on some crypto cash. There are thousands of poop coins that really stink. However, building a solid crypto project that stand the test of time requires a high level of skill and knowledge and is a time-consuming process. No wonder that most crypto projects fail.

It may seem crazy, but venture capital firms continue to pour billions into the space and clear regulatory guidelines are being created. Most money will clearly be lost but some companies will win big time. Clearly even big money gets it wrong when it comes to crypto investments.

No wonder it’s a high-risk and high-reward game.

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Business & Society

Should We Cancel 2023?

We will likely continue to experience a decline in consumer spending for at least another year. The entire eurozone and the US is heading into a full-on recession.  Sweden’s recession will last until 2025 according to the Swedish Ministry of Finance. Bitcoin is down by at least 70 percent since 2021 and altcoins about 90 percent. The crazy thing is that it may seem like the bottom but it’s probably not. Doom and gloom.

Should we just cancel 2023?

Yes, let’s just stay home and cook pasta and enjoy a juicy steak… or serve a bowl of beans. Eat whatever. The wine will probably be more important anyway…

Seriously, what can we say about crypto in a significant period of economic downturn?

Unfortunately, crypto hasn’t been around long enough for us to get an idea on how it behaves in a recession. So, it’s anyone’s guess.

Normally, cash is king in a recession.

When we look back to previous crypto downturns in 2015 and 2018, we learn that they where brilliant investment opportunities. Especially for those who held their digital assets for 2-3 years. It’s important that you consider your own financial circumstances and follow your own belief in investing. However, I am guessing and working under the notion that the next considerable up-trend in crypto prices will be in the end of 2023 or in the beginning of 2024. But I am also expecting the unexpected.

Who will be the winner in 2023?

The patient investor is destined to be the winner.

I know it sounds boring. But since you are staying up to date you are doing things differently than most people.   The crypto industry is eventful, fast, and keeping pace is key to be successful. Remember, the public is still ignorant about crypto and always too late to the party.

I suggest beginning the year by appreciating what we already have instead of cancelling 2023 by sticking our head in the sand because it may not be a year with financial growth, Now, it’s time to be curious, study and learn. Expect the unexpected. Afterall, growth is not only in numbers.

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Business & Society

Two Nerds Stole 2022 and Laughed All the Way to the Crypto Bank

Two nerds made a fool of media and high-stake venture capitalists and the average Joe. They created a modern-day Ponzi scheme and committed fraud and manipulated the crypto market, embezzled billions, and bought real estate with customer funds. They laughed all the way to the bank. 2022 has been a crazy year. What can we learn from the story of the two nerds?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Reality beats fiction in crypto. Two guys in crypto played us perfectly and crypto investors are left to pick up the bill. The biggest scams of 2022 will go down in history and its philosophical lessons are important. Deceit sleeps with greed.

The cocky nerd, Do Kwon, created the yield-bearing decentralized stablecoin UST. Basically, UST was a stablecoin that is designed to always be worth 1 dollar. The value of UST was supported by another digital coin called Terra Luna that Do Kwon also invented. What attracted people to buy and hold UST was the chance to get 20 percent yield each year from staking it. Imagine getting 20 percent interest from the bank… The financial world was at awe and Terra Luna increased by 135 percent in the first two months alone. Average Joe jumped on board and initially made some serious dough. Do Kwon laughed all the way to the bank.

The problem was that UST was not fully backed by fiat money, gold or Bitcoin and was in essence a Ponzi scheme. When $2 billion worth of UST was taken off the protocol in May 2022 the stable coin was not able to keep its 1-dollar value. The value dropped quickly, and people got spooked and started selling their UST. Both UST and Luna crashed and $60 billion were wiped-out in a matter of days.

The cocky nerd eluded regulators with a run-of-the-mill attempt to salvage the situation. Then disastrous stories of thousands of people who lost their life-time savings started to emerge and he fled. That’s when the dominos of 2022 started to fall in the crypto currency space. Voyager and Celsius as well as Three Arrows Capital filed for bankruptcy because they were large holders of Terra Luna and UST.

“I am here. Come get me…” said Do Kwon and laughed while being on the run.

To this day he is wanted by Interpol and continues to make fun of police by saying that he is not on the run. Rumor has it that he cashed out US$2.7 billion before the crash and is hiding in summer paradise Croatia. I bet he has a cocktail in one hand and Margaritha in the other…

The harsh crypto winter continued, and more people lost their life savings.

Meanwhile a nerd with a funny hairdo, took center stage. Sam Bankman-Fried was the wonderkid who started his own crypto exchange FTX as well as the FTT token. He invested heavily in different crypto businesses. He portrayed himself as a genuine soft-hearted billionaire who wasn’t in it for the money.

“I do not want a yacht or luxury…” said Sam to media.

On photos he wore a simple T-shirt and said that he slept on a bean bag at the office. He even pledged to give away 99 percent of his money to philanthropic initiatives. Sam was one of the biggest donors to the Democratic Party and things seemed kosher.

However, when the curtain closed, he lived in a luxury estate in the Bahamas and have been claimed to have orgies and enjoyed recreational drugs. He secretly also donated to the Republican Party to make sure he had powerful friends on both side of the aisle. Hell, he also had close ties with the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission that regulate the crypto market.

One day big-time investors started to question his business as they realized that $1 billion in customer funds had disappeared. People called his bluff and his empire collapsed in one day.

In the eye of the public, he lost approximately 15 billion USD and his net worth decreased by 94 percent. But, in fact he funneled billions of customer funds to different shell companies and bought real estate for his supporters, himself, and his family. The only good part of this story is that he is spending his days and nights in a rat-infested jail in the Bahamas and is charged with 8 criminal charges including fraud and by conspiracy by misusing customer funds.

History tells us that greed never gets old. If greed was to bare a child, it would be a Ponzi-scheme and Do Kwon created a modern-day version to satisfy this cardinal sin.

When it comes to Sam Bankman-Fried he gave us a clue how he had been thinking. In an interview he said, “I wasn’t even trying to manage risk”. He was clearly consumed by greed.

The moral of the story is important. There is no end in greed. The feeling of greed is sly and powerful, and we fall easy prey for its feelings of inadequacy. To avoid the feeling of lack we reach for more, instead of finding acceptance and gratitude in what is.

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Business & Society

Worst Fears of the Digital World

The worst fears of digitalization may be dystopian, but they are valid. We do not need to put on a tin foil hat to fear the future. Remember, ignorance is the root of misfortune. Here’s what we need to watch out for.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The growth of blockchain technology and crypto currencies provide great solutions for society. But we also need to be aware of the risks of digital technology to avoid creating a world that limit our freedom. Digital money and digital IDs are feared to be tools for public control.

Not surprising, but cash is ending. 10 countries have already launched a digital currency and 105 countries are exploring the potential of launching a digital version of its currency. The Bahamas have launched their Sand Dollar and Nigeria the Enaira. India is launching the digital rupee in 2023. China is in the forefront of launching its digital yuan and has already started doing tests across the nation.  Whereas the USA and UK are behind in the process. However, there are rumors that the USA will use the most credible stablecoin, USDC, as its digital currency, and UK will launch what will be called Britcoin. There are even talks within the crypto space that USDC will become the next world reserve currency as the US dollar will continue to be the strongest currency (empire) on earth. Freedom seekers and crypto enthusiasts dream that Bitcoin will become the first decentralized world reserve currency which would mean dramatic global political shifts in power. However, it is not likely that Bitcoin will become the global reserve currency with the current financial and political systems of the world. Put simply, no powerful empire will hand over their keys to their kingdom. I digress.

Digital money equals digital IDs. Governments need to create digital wallets for everyone in the entire population when they implement a digital money system. Each wallet obviously needs to be securely connected to one individual. Therefore, digital IDs is also a key component of digitization.

Digital ID is digital version of the physical national identity card that require biometric information such as our face and fingerprint, eye color and height. Usually, a social security number is also included.

Did you know that the United Nations sustainable development goals include that member states should implement a digital ID by 2030?

Digital ID’s can be used to promote equitable social, political, and economic empowerment, help to fight pandemics, and protect human rights. Proving one’s identity is crucial for civil liberties and for gaining access to services and to conduct professional and personal business. The opportunity and fears are that a digital ID can store a limitless amount of personal data about us and be used by the government and by private entities. Our digital ID will likely store our health data as well as our digital money. Private entities will not have the same access to information as government organizations and institutions. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is designed to improve the security and privacy of personal data in the EU requires that the control of personal data rests with the individual. But digital IDs are highly complex and can include a range of different data and serve different use cases for different entities. Digital IDs can be used for login credentials, track online browsing behavior and online shopping. A government-controlled wallet also means that all transactions can be tracked by the government. The worst fears are that digital ID could track social behavior and be a way to identify political interest of the individual. There is a reason why totalitarian regimes are early adopters of digital money and digital IDs…

The line between privacy and freedom is blurry in the digital world.

Digital developments can clearly be used as a top-down approach to control the population and leave people with little opportunity to be financially free and to escape from political oppression. Crypto currencies such as Bitcoin may be seen as a powerful powerhouse for increased financial freedom as it is not controlled by any single entity or political and religious institution.

A solution may be for governments to use blockchain technology and what’s called Self-Sovereign Identity that keeps your data under your control. Put simply, it is a way to store our sensitive data in a decentralized way and the only one we need to trust is code.

In conclusion, code can be used to control us or to bring us freedom. I choose freedom.

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Business & Society

Who Are You in the Future?

A virtual you and a real you. Hang on! Who are we really? Our sense of selves is rapidly turning individualistic and complex. Who are we in the future?

KEY TAKEAWAYS
The fourth industrial revolution is quickly changing our sense of self. Hyper-personalization and technology provide new ways of identifying ourselves. Our identity is no longer just based on reality as our digital selves are kidnapping our attention. What is real and what is not may cause an identity confusion.

If we travel back in time to prehistoric humans, the group was particularly important for our survival. Man originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago and it took about 100,000 years before we left Africa. During these first 100,000 years humans lived as hunters and gatherers. Man lived largely as nomads and formed bans or groups of 20–40 people and their focus for survival was to get along within the group. Everyone had his or her own sense of identity within the group. Some were strong hunters, and some were observants scouts looking for threats. Anthropologists claim that societies were largely egalitarian and with no dominant rulers. They can be claimed to have been people without politics. The key point is that a considerable part of humans back then were not highly influenced by social/cultural development.

In short one may claim that the development of human social organization started as band societies and then turned into tribe societies where they started to settle down and grow their own food instead of hunting. Some 7,500 years ago cheifdoms started to emerge and people started to organize themselves into thousands. It was not until about 5,000–6,000 years ago that a version of the first states appeared. Since then we are accustomed to partly identify ourselves with our national citizenship and its language and culture.

Our sense of identity is shaped by social interactions, ethnicity, language, and cultural preferences as well as by technological developments.

It is scary how short of time the so-called modern human has lived. It was not until about 1750 that the first industrial revolution started. It’s even more scary to consider how greatly the fourth industrial revolution have shaped our sense of identity. Consider this question.

Are we shaping our digital identity or are we shaped by our digital identity?

Since the inception of the fourth industrial revolution in 2014 human sense of identity has gone through rapid developments. The trend towards hyper-individualization started in web2 as we started self-tracking through social media. Suddenly it was normal behavior to take selfies… As our digital identity started to emerge, we quickly chose which community we identified ourselves with. We showed our identity by joining communities online or used hashtags. Fitness enthusiast posted photos of their bodies and those sharing the identity as a foodie presented their cooking skills in social media. At some point our strife to find and show off ourselves took a bad turn. Our digital selves kidnapped our real selves by using notifications and likes to make us addicted to our online existence. Suddenly our real self is not enough and we develop a need to check our avatar to get more approval for our sense of identity.

In web3 our sense of identity will be even more individualized. We will need to own digital clothes that are presentable for our professional and personal selves. It will be important to consider how we present ourselves in the metaverse and our sense of self will expand to a digital self. Some will live through their online sense of selves.

The question is when it all gets unhealthy!?

Having a sense of self is a key component of mental health. How much will it matter if we have the wrong kind of shirt at a professional digital meeting? It is also important to consider how fragile our sense of self is as we measure ourselves through a digital existence through likes and virtual approval. As hyper-individualization is taking over we will have unlimited ways of finding and showing off our sense of selves. Gone are the days when it was more than enough to be a hunter gatherer.

We do not have to be dystopian to be worried about our future selves that also need to consider who we are in a pretend world. Or is web3 reality? I have one message to my future self. I am neither what I identify with in reality or in the virtual world. I am not something of life. I am life.

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Business & Society

Crypto’s Crazy Way to Adoption

Things have always been crazy in crypto, but not this loud. Now days even my 80-year-old neighbor have heard about recent crypto crashes. How did we get here and what does the road to adoption look like?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

· Bitcoin grew up as an outcast and a joke. Until its technology disrupted the financial world. The ride to full adoption is turbulent, but crypto is here to stay.

Bitcoin was born after the global financial crisis in 2009, but without a buzz. In fact, all we heard from Bitcoin were crickets. The jaw-dropping blockchain technology of Bitcoin was ignored. The first time we heard from Bitcoin was when a guy bought 2 pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoin on May 22, 2010. It took three years before Bitcoin started to have some traction across the world.

In 2013, The city of Vancouver opened the first Bitcoin ATM and Germany considered Bitcoin as a financial instrument, but not e-money. The US Drug Enforcement Administration were busy seizing Bitcoin for the first time in 2013. Plenty of shady people used Bitcoin for transactions without understanding that every transaction is transparent and law enforcement agencies started having an eye on the blockchain. Various Bitcoin payment processors set-up business and crypto exchanges emerged, and things were picking up. Then in 2014 the world’s largest exchange Mt. Gox was hacked and filed for bankruptcy. Since Mt. Gox handled about 80 percent of the world’s Bitcoin transactions most people thought the crypto industry was dead. Bitcoin became a joke and people started to refer to Bitcoin as magic internet money.

Bitcoin is ‘probably rat poison squared’

The fight against crypto went viral as headlines in media read: The Great Bitcoin Scam, You’d be Crazy to Actually Spend Bitcoin, Warren Buffett said that Bitcoin is ‘probably rat poison squared’. Since blockchain technology eliminates the middleman in economic transactions traditional banks started spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt about Bitcoin. Meanwhile they quietly started stacking up on Bitcoin themselves. Now days, major banks use blockchain technology to increase the speed and efficiency of transactions.

Bitcoin has had dramatic mood swings up and down in a four-year cycle. At the top in 2021 one Bitcoin cost almost 70,000 USD before falling to 16,500 in 2022. However, if we look at the Bitcoin price since its birth no traditional asset beats its increase. The price of Bitcoin will likely continue to be volatile until the traditional finance sector fully embraces it.

In 2022 the craziness continued. TerraUSD , Celsius and Three Arrows Capital crashed. Then the world’s second biggest exchange FTX kick the crypto space in the nuts and laughed when they bought real estate with customer funds. Then they filed for bankruptcy. The contagion of the FTX crash is still a major concern for other exchanges and crypto lenders who owned the FTX token FTT.

Currently the war on crypto has turned its focus on the greatest problem that really has nothing to do with the groundbreaking technology of blockchain. Lack of regulation fosters criminal activity and the biggest investors from the traditional financial sector are still on the sideline waiting for regulatory clarity before investing fully. Nation states have not been able to keep up with the fast pace of digital technology. Crypto will not be adopted by the public for years to come.

So, there we have it folks. The road to public adoption of blockchain technology is rocky to say the least. Disruptive developments in society seem to follow a path.

Gandhi said it best “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

In the end, the good of crypto will win if we are willing to have a grown-up debate and a healthy look at the vast opportunities of crypto currencies and blockchain technology. The tech is clearly steadfast and a part of our future.

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Business & Society

Crypto crisis — Should I buy or sell?

We have been bombarded by grave crypto news for months now. It’s a bad crisis. Seriously bad. What to do with our hard-earned cash?

Media have jumped on the opportunity to make dramatic click-bait headlines portraying an apocalyptic situation for the crypto industry. The contagious shitstorm started with the collapse of TerraUSD, Three Arrows Capital and Celcius Network and continued with fraudulent practices by crypto exchange FTX and Alameda Research.

It’s like a thrilling HBO series.

It’s an ongoin crisis. The contagion effect of the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research caused Voyager and Blockfi to go bankrupt, and the problems will continue lower down the crypto food chain. The industry is wondering why the crypto villain, SBF, is not arrested and is still free to party in his penthouse in the Bahamas. Rumor has it that prominent politicians and high-profile people in regulating organizations have been paid off.

What’s worse? Well, we have the imminent global depression and the war in Ukraine. Limitless printing of fiat currency and inflation is making us considerably financially weaker. Global macro-economic factors tell a worrying tale, and the crypto market is no different.

We cannot possibly buy crypto now right!?

The word in the crypto space is that people who invest long-term should consider buying in a shitstorm. Those looking to make a quick buck should walk away. If you bought your first crypto in 2021 it’s too late to leave the party without a loss. You might as well have a sleep-over. Make some popcorn, take a warm blanket and cuddle-up on the sofa, and enjoy the thriller. It’s only pretend money anyway right!?

But seriously. We need to look at least 16 months into the future before we can expect a clear uptrend in the crypto market. The reason for the wait is not because of the current situation. Crypto enthusiasts are waiting for the next Bitcoin halving which is on the 29th of March 2024. Until then there will likely not be much price action. The Bitcoin halving-cycle has been right so far in predicting when the price of Bitcoin will go up and down. That trend is still your friend.

If we look through the shitstorm we will see a much more developed crypto landscape. Research shows that crypto currency is a legitimate investment. In fact, investment research shows that 2 percent of the total investment portfolio should be crypto currency such as Bitcoin.

Moreover, considering that most banks invested in blockchain related companies in 2021, newcomers are in a good spot right now to enter the market. After the crypto market downturn in 2021, KB Financial Group, United Overseas Bank, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia have continued their investments in the crypto space. The word on the streets is that it’s smart to follow in the footsteps of big players. We can be sure that banks are in it for the money.

Those involved in the crypto space are slowly starting to buy to increase their positions before next bull run around March 2024. But remember, this is edutainment only and I am not a financial advisor. It’s wise not to invest. But it’s also wise to invest after doing your own research.

One thing is likely. The sky clears after the storm.

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Business & Society

Fiction is reality in retail

Vegan leather jackets, smart mirrors, drone deliveries and digital assistants will take shopping to new dimensions. The future is faster than we think in retail. What will the future look like in retail and how will it impact our lives?

“Show me how I look in a pair of white sneakers from Nike!”

“Change to my black vegan leather jacket!”

“Show me a cool cap that matches the jacket? Great, buy that one!”

These will be normal commands that we tell our smart mirror to do for us. The smart mirror will be connected to the internet and store a digital version of our clothes and be voice-activated and assisted by artificial intelligence. Voice activated commerce mean that you will ask, and you shall receive. You will be able to ask the smart mirror to show a high-resolution image of yourself in various clothing and tell your digital assistant to buy it for you. Since you will be able to do a full-body scan with your phone you can be sure that the digital assistant will order the correct size of clothing. Yes, the order will be delivered to your door by a drone.

The future of shopping is presenting a thrilling picture.

The internet of things does not only mean that things are connected to the internet but also assisted by AI via our phones and glasses. We will be able to live in two worlds at the same time. Augmented reality is a merge between reality and different digital worlds that we can chose to participate in if we like. It will be like walking in our hometown but being able to shop from all corners of the world when we participate in the augmented reality through our glasses.

There will still be shops, but they will be fully delocalized if they choose a business model that embrace augmented reality. Local shops will be able to sell a vast catalogue of online products and purchases will be automatically paid for via our digital ID when we leave the shop. You will be able to buy a vegan leather jacket as leather can be grown using stem cells. Your digital wardrobe will be updated with a digital copy of each purchase of clothing.

When we think about it, the future of online shopping is already here. The difference will be in the use of augmented reality which will offer a new dimension for digital shopping. A man will only see men’s clothing when he enters a physical shop that use an augmented reality. Whereas women will only see handbags…

The future of shopping is highly personalized using AI and blockchain technology. Everyone will have a digital ID that we can use for personal and professional services and payments in crypto currencies or central bank digital currencies. The digital ID will store personal data such as health records, passport details, banking details and ownership of land. Our digital assistance and AI will store details such as our favorite clothing brand or color or remind us about buying birthday gifts.

When we merge highly personal data with AI it is difficult to see a clear picture of all problems and possibilities of the future. Security of data will be a major issue in the future of retail as most data will be stored online. However, if this data is stored on a blockchain we will be able choose what data we want to share with relevant parties.

Some shops will decide to invest in robots that serve our food and cashiers will not be needed in the same way. Employment will move into the metaverse.

Furthermore, it is predicted that the fourth industrial revolution will mean the end of malls. Those companies that decide to stick to physical stores they are forced to provide a unique shopping experience for customers. For example, trying out sports gear in the store before buying or personalize products are examples of how shopping will transform.

Walking down the aisle will also be a different experience.

Gone will be the days of having to go through a maze of irrelevant products. Those who enjoy shopping will even have a greater experience as retail will enter a phase of what’s called hyper-personalization. Stores will display fewer physical products and aisles will present high-resolution displays that guide you through the products that you prefer. Hyper-personalization will also mean dematerialization of retail as only the most relevant products will be produced. 3d printers are already used in the design clothing industry. Dematerialization is obviously eco-friendly in comparison to mass production.

Businesses that are early in adapting to these technological shifts will blossom. Those not daring to take the leap will have to put a great deal of effort in creating a totally different experience for customers. Local shops not betting on the digital world can focus on human interactions and providing a unique local appeal.

I can’t wait for shopping to become more effective and relevant so I can spend more time doing what really matters in life. 

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Business & Society

The crypto space is a hypocrite

Fraudsters killing the market. Crypto bank runs. Sure, the industry needs regulation. But what is the major problem with crypto that no one is talking about?

The last couple of weeks in crypto has been a complete disaster. Traditional media have gladly picked up on the news that a fraudster named SBF have fckd the space with his malignant practices that is causing billions of losses in the crypto space. It’s a complete and utter mess. But the mission with this week’s article is to zoom out and look at a bigger problem.

Yes, the current mess of the crypto industry teaches us that it needs clearer regulation. Fine. But my mom needs to understand the industry before it will be fully adopted by the public. How can the crypto industry expect to go mainstream when its underlining message is associated with secrecy, uncertainty and ambiguous words and practices?

What kind of name is crypto anyway?

Crypto basically means that something is not publicly admitted. It can also mean cryptocurrency, but the actual meaning of the word is secrecy. Imagine asking a public relations expert to market something to the public that inherently means being away from the public.

Then we have the word blockchain. Seriously, blockchain!? All definitions that try to describe the meaning of the word includes a brave attempt to explain the technology. But my mom is not interested in nodes and distributed networks. She doesn’t even see the meaning of it all.

The list of PR-unfriendly words is long in the crypto industry. Yields, mining, nft, hodl, distributed ledger, decentralization, byzantine fault tolerance, merkle tree, proof of work. Jesus! It took a year before I understood the crypto industry. My mom is now impressed by my knowledge…

The crypto space is a hypocrite.

One can argue that the crypto space is constructed to be a secret alternative, but the underlining wish of the community is to become fully legitimate. It’s badly needing approval from the traditional system to grow up. Here’s an idea. Let’s rebrand the industry! Let’s make it accessible and understandable. Brilliant!

The crypto industry has itself to blame for lack of adoption and criticism from traditional media. It cannot expect to be fully implemented by businesses and stiff government organizations until it takes a long hard look at itself.

Who would like to date someone who you do not understand and is hesitant in being seen in public?