My Blockchain Experience

I will forever be in awe of how fast the world can change around me. Two years ago I had no concept of a decentralized ledger and today I manage my own personal crypto currency portfolio. I trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and invest in obscure "altcoins" (investments that resemble old penny stocks). I even own some trading cards for a couple of the first ever blockchain-based games.

So how did I get to be so diversified in crypto? It began when I first grasped the concept of an open vs. a closed ledger.  Closed ledgers require a facilitator and go back to the beginning of time. They have shaped how we deal with one another.  How we trust each other.  With the power of the Internet, open ledgers are possible and we no longer need third parties to conduct transactions. Intangible things can be owned and transferred to others. Records can be public and permanently sealed without a gatekeeper or facilitator.  A system that requires no middle man.

It struck me that when you change something so systemic, as a ledger, you change everything.  When you change everything you create opportunity for the early adapters.  With my newfound understanding of what was now possible with open ledgers, I dove in headfirst. 

Along the way some were very open to hear about my new decentralized ventures but most were resistant. I was shocked until I remembered how slow some people were to the communication revolution that was the invention of the cell phone.

Cell phones are a good example of systemic change. 

What if your iPhone only worked when it was plugged into a wall? You would not be able to function effectively in today’s world. Essentially  a new world was created, a cellular world. While some people were holdouts, eventually everyone got on board.  Can you imagine today someone spouting the benefits of a land line over a cell phone? Tough sell  to say the least.

Blockchain, Decentralized, and Cryptocurrency are the new buzzwords signaling the next big change.  The way I see it, we are still in the infancy stage of Distributed Ledger Technology,  but that baby is growing fast.