The current state of the blockchain ecosystem, how it will evolve and how to prepare for the next steps from a business perspective.
Presentation delivered at #EIC16
The narrative can be found here: http://fintank.net/position_papers/european-identity-cloud/
1. From Exploration to Implementation
Preparing for the Next Steps of Blockchain
Sebastien Meunier
Chappuis Halder & Co.
#eic16
2. 2CHAPPUIS HALDER & CO.
First there was only Bitcoin… then the world discovered Blockchain
2008 2009 2013 20162012 2014 2015
• Bitcoin.org registered
• White paper published
Bitcoin
• Block 0 mined
• 1st transaction
Bitcoin
• Begins working on a
digital currency system
Ripple
• White paper published
(smart contracts)
Ethereum
Bitcoin in the spot light
Blockchain
hype
2011
• Launch of Bitcoin
exchange & wallet
Coinbase
2010
Google trends
• 1st bank to experiment
with Bitcoin/Blockchain
Fidor Bank
Next?
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Key characteristics of the Bitcoin Blockchain
The Blockchain is a
distributed ledger
(network of ~6500
nodes) used to
securely record the
Bitcoin transactions
Distributed: all nodes in the network have the same role
Public: everyone has access to the history of transactions
Permissionless: anyone can become a participant
Pseudonymous: a secure address is used as identity
Secure: the proof of work and chaining of the blocks make
any attempt to alter the transactions practically impossible
Immutable: transactions can never be modified
2 main
usages
Bitcoin: Peer-to-peer exchanges of units of value,
solving the double-spending problem
Trust system: the Blockchain itself ensures the trust
between participants, without the need of intermediaries
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Build your own Blockchain – the DL stack
Distributed applications
(Use-cases / Business services)
Integration
services
User
interface
API /
Toolkits
Business Logic
(Rules, Smart contracts)
Asset Management
(Colored coins, …)
Settlement
(Consensus protocol, Token)
Transport
(Network protocol)
BaaS
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The end game is still unclear
Competing
networks
Bitcoin
Blockchain
Ethereum
…
…
Gateways
1
Universal trust
service
Public Blockchain
3
Standard-driven
ecosystem
Payments
Identity
Securities
2
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How to prepare for the next steps
6 – 18months 2 – 3 years 4+ years
Experimentation and
first large scale PoC
Efforts to build
industry standards
Niche innovations in
large markets
Global
trends
Emergence of global
standards
Large partnerships/JV
Disruption of small
markets
New markets
Mainstream
adoption?
Major industry-
wide disruptions,
elimination of
intermediaries?
Collaborate
Be involved in consortiums
Organize hackathons
What businesses should do right now
Develop awareness
Set up internal trainings
Organize market watch
Experiment
Identify relevant use-cases
Launch proof of concepts
Develop your strategy
Define your priorities
Build your roadmap
Anticipate the change
Analyze impacts on IT,
processes, organization
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Identify relevant use-cases
When all you have in
mind is a blockchain,
everything looks like a
blockchain use-case
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Not all business use-cases are relevant / disruptive
Build distributed ledgers at industry /
consortiums level
Leverage existing public DL to:
• Store “proofs” outside the firewall (BTC)
• Build distributed applications (ETH)
Build a private DL at Group level
From a business perspective, 3 ways to
build a distributed ledger solution
Level of disruption
Disruption of intermediaries,
efficiency for the participants
From enhancement of existing
services to significant impact
and creation of new services
Efficiency~ over existing systems
for some specific use-cases
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6 ways to work with Distributed Ledgers
Internal
experimentations
Market watch
Sponsorships
of accelerators /
hackathons
Partnerships with
startups or service
providers
Participation to
workgroups /
consortiums
Strategic
Investments
(Venture Capital)
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Final thoughts
Still early days for distributed ledgers
Hot topics: standardization, identity management, legal &
compliance issues
Blockchain technology is an enabler – the Business perspective is key
Be aware of what’s happening, identify relevant use-cases,
experiment, develop your strategy
Technology providers / Consultancies can help, but important to
develop in-house competencies