Podcast: Blockchain will shape the future of everything

People are getting paid in it, and governments are regulating it. Blockchain technology is officially mainstream. How did that happen and what does it mean?

While blockchain enthusiasts have been bullish the past few years, signs of a recent collapse have many re-examining the technology.

Nicolas Cary, co-founder and vice chairman of Blockchain.com, is an early blockchain adopter, having snapped up the blockchain.com domain name more than 10 years ago.

Here, Nicolas shares insights on the road ahead, from fintechs to sports sponsorships. And despite the recent market downturn in crypto, Nicolas is confident blockchain and decentralised computing in general are here to stay.

“We’ve seen four significant adoption curves: There was one in 2013, one in 2015, one in 2017, and then most recently, in 2020.”

The Blockchain.com founder continued: “Each time one of those waves has come, between two and 10 times the previous number of network participants joins and signs up for services like ours and our competitors. And most recently, we saw roughly 100 new million market participants join the crypto community.”

Blockchain tech is almost mainstream but adoption is still low

“We’re getting to a point now where we are genuinely crossing the chasm into mainstream,” added Nicolas.

What’s the ‘but’, interjected Michael del Castillo, senior editor of blockchain and crypto, Forbes.

“The ‘but’ is we probably have another decade of building, and that’s okay. I think if we’re at 20% adoption of crypto in the United States – based on some fuzzy math, roughly one in five people have either bought crypto or have some exposure to it – we have a long way to go,” explained Nicolas.

Nicolas Cary, co-founder & vice chairman, Blockchain.com was in conversation with Michael del Castillo, senior editor of blockchain and crypto, Forbes, on Centre stage at Collision 2022.

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Main image: Sam Barnes/Web Summit (CC BY 2.0)