Blockchain - Where Are the Killer Apps?

"Blockchain Is Awful" It’s not easy to weed through all the crypto-fluff, but there are some sober-minded experts we respect in this field. One is Alex Thorn, the Head of Firmwide Research for Galaxy Digital. Alex has nuanced perspective. He flat out says, “Blockchain is awful” – at least for many of the applications for which it is hyped. He’s a skeptic that it gains traction in many of the hoped-for functions. There are, however, applications and use cases where blockchain could provide game-changing improvements.

Alex Thorn, Galaxy Digital

Alex has agreed to host a live call with clients (and friends) of Fielder Capital. You can sign up at the end of this note. Alex will explain:

• Why blockchain is “awful” for certain applications, but ideal for others.

• Real world examples where crypto could make things 10x better (faster, cheaper, easier, safer).

• What could go wrong? What could derail blockchain's adoption?

Where Are the Killer Apps?

The great promise of blockchain has been widely heralded. People are enthusiastic about the great things that decentralized blockchain should be able to do theoretically. This is certainly no secret. Last month I had two different Uber drivers proselytize the virtues of blockchain and how it will improve everything from banking to logistics to healthcare.

Blockchain isn’t a baby anymore. It’s a big kid. Bitcoin is 14 years old; Ethereum is 7 years old. It’s about time, we believe, to ask the obvious question: Where are all the real-world applications? Yes, Bitcoin has gained mass adoption as a store of value (“digital gold”). NFT’s are also gaining mass adoption (Sotheby's sold more than $100 million in NFT's last year). Beyond these obvious examples, though, we're having trouble identifying use cases that are achieving widespread, mainstream adoption.

Hype / Substance

This has us worried that the ratio of hype to substance for blockchain is too high. During the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s, that ratio was definitely too high. Nevertheless, we saw killer apps almost immediately in retail (Amazon, eBay) and communications (email, chat rooms, online news), among others.

We remain believers more than skeptics. From the due diligence that Fielder’s CIO Steve Korn has led, we have gained conviction that many of the world’s very brightest minds are dedicated to developing blockchain and crypto applications. We’re just anxious to see things progress from the theoretical to the empirical.

Speaking of bright minds, we’re thrilled to host a fireside chat and live Q&A with Alex Thorn…

Call Details with Alex

Speaker: Alex Thorn

Date: Wednesday, March 2nd

Time: 4:30pm Eastern Time

To Register: Email info@fieldercapital.com

We hope you can join and learn with us.

Yours in the Field,

Frank Byrd, CFA, CFP®

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