Rome was not built in a day...

The BBC article “Blockchain: The revolution that hasn't quite happened” may be aptly titled. 

It is indeed the case that there has not been a blockchain revolution. Instead, as with any new technology, we have seen, and will continue to see, an evolution. The evolution of the infrastructure layers and applications for the adoption of a new technology takes time, and it is unreasonable to expect a revolution. Even human behaviour (including engrained practices and prejudices) takes time to adapt to new processes and methodologies which arise from the development of new or improved infrastructure layers and applications. One only has to think back to the early days of the internet, which one accessed through dial-up modems and bulky desktop computers. The internet in its early days had limited usage and application. The hardware to support the use of the early internet was also limited.

Whilst many use cases for DLT have been identified and cited, only few of these are currently appropriate for the technology in its current stage of development. Trust structures for the input of data require to be improved, as do digital identities (self-sovereign or otherwise) for devices and individuals. As these develop over time, it is predictable that the realisable purposes for which DLT may be applied will broaden and consequently see greater adoption. This is evidenced by Bitcoin itself – which was created as a form of decentralised money, but whose underlying technology has spawned so many ideas and use cases that were never envisioned by Satoshi Nakamoto. The future of DLT is definitely bright and exciting. One expects that as development of the technology and adoption grows, the hype will subside, and people will simply come to derive an added sense of trust and transactional assurance knowing that an app is certified as being “powered by blockchain” rather than focusing on, or unpicking, the underlying engine that provides that security.

Vikram Nagrani 

Partner, Hassans International Law Firm

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