CONCORDIUM - Navigating the Path to Responsible Blockchain Adoption
Concordium Baker 85223 welcomes you to this summary of Holger Fisher's comments at the "Web3 Stronger Together" conference. As Concordium's ecosystem manager shares his insights from "panel 6" focusing on the mainstream adoption of decentralized technologies provide valuable perspectives. This summary distills key takeaways without requiring a full viewing of the panel discussion. Let's delve into Fisher's thought leadership shaping both concordium and the broader decentralized tech landscape beginning with a brief introduction.
My name is Holger Fisher and I work as an Ecosystem Manager at Concordium "Research" which functions as an entity on top of the Concordium blockchain and the Concordium blockchain is a layer-1 blockchain like a lot of the others out there we provide the underlying infrastructure for decentralized applications to be built upon. Both DeFi Metaverses and Gaming and a lot within Identity Solutions because we have a very unique selling point that is an identity layer So before you can onboard the Concordium blockchain you actually have to be identified but I will probably get into that somehow in some shape of form later in this discussion. My day-to-day work goes with the managing the ecosystem helping projects, partners and infrastructure to connect and then also be a part of scaling it and expanding it.
So helping projects to somehow integrate or migrate or if organizations want to include some blockchain elements in any of their processes we also help them with that. So yeah that is a short introduction for me. After introducing himself Holger Fisher delves into essential themes for blockchain adoption he highlights the urgent need for legal clarity, robust frameworks and the definition of participant rights and obligations in the blockchain ecosystem. Fisher also emphasizes the critical role of real world utility in project acceptance and the importance of education to dispel prevalent confusion around technical jargon in the industry. Legal clarity and legal certainty within this space is is very important because right now as as we're seeing with the United States of America and the SEC and Gary Gensler it's it's it's kind of like a the wild west. There is no legal clarity,
there is no framework, there is no structure. It makes it difficult for adoption to happen because institutions won't really touch it, retailers are running away a little bit scared. And I think it's very important that you provide these legal frameworks that outlines both stuff like rights and obligations of participants within the blockchain ecosystem right! because before that there won't really be any certainty that you can bring to businesses but also investors or basic network participants within the ecosystems.
because right now I mean there's there's a lot of uncertainty revolving around phrases like cryptocurrencies smart contracts I mean decentralized applications you trust a little bit upon the Catherine I mean when it's an application decentralized right I mean I think that's that's we're talking to a lot of projects um coming in at concordum who wants to do a grant application want to review that process and then we really deep dive into it and try to understand the decentralized nature of these projects and sometimes we figure out there aren't really any right I mean they're just throwing around them with terms like distributed Ledger technology and then they heard about that they might need a fungible token but there's no really real world utility to this token then it doesn't really make much sense right I mean um if if you don't need a decentralized smart contract and to facilitate certain stuff then I mean it really needs to bring overall value to your project right and and and we put a lot of projects on the scrutiny for this and in the end it's a good thing because then we actually end up figuring out what would make the most sense right I mean it's the same with with current web 2 businesses they want to explore the potential blockchain technology sometimes they contact us and then they they don't really understand uh the innate qualities of the blockchain of the technology and then they have all of these great ideas and really creative about what can be done but at the end of the day it actually only makes sense to put a few components on chain right um so I agree with you there I mean that I definitely think that there's a little bit of confusion and a lot of people need to be they need to be a bit more education in the space and people in this space needs to be better at explaining it in a less technical buzzwordy way and and then do it through real world use cases right um yeah building on the previous discussion about the importance of legal Frameworks and real world utility Fisher shifts Focus to the role of existing Web 2.0 companies in this decentralized space poses an intriguing question about their capacity to adopt these decentralized Technologies and whether this transition lies in the realm of blockchain or in another emerging technology let's hear his insights on the implications of mainstream Brands adopting blockchain we also need to sometimes remember that that what's important for the adoption of the decentralized Technologies also when some of these bigger Brands right they actually enter into this space and they use it um so for instance I don't know if you all remember but back in September it was a pretty big deal when Starbucks started to use polygon Network right yeah and I had a lot of people in in my circles who didn't know about blockchain technology didn't know what an nft was for the digital collectible was I mean they never really heard these terms before but because of Starbucks now they had because then they saw it in the newspaper they saw it on uh whatever social media platform they're using these news all of a sudden start flourishing right and and then people get some ignore it but it also Sparks curiosity in a lot of new people right and then there's a lot of newcomers and then they start to read about the technology and they start to read about I'm curious on why would a player like Starbucks enter this space right and and I think there's there's multiple uh cases of this uh where you have these bigger brands that enter in and some of them succeed and some of them also don't right because then you don't have a proper strategy involved but I mean basically the way that that that that Starbucks did it right I mean because they didn't really phrase it as decentralized technology but for them it was more on what they say web free technology right because it allows the users to and members to access experiences and or and and ownership on stuff that wasn't really possible before right um so it I mean there's definitely some what can you say you transcend these foundational benefits um that the current like reward programs from some of these bigger brands have which digital Collectibles and loyalty systems and and and some of these can can alleviate and enhance right um and I think I mean some of that is is very important because if if we do at one point want to what can you say and really get industry adoption and and integration um it's it's it's it's Grant like these that needs to to enter to begin with right um because otherwise it will be difficult to entice the masses and it would be difficult to get people to really understand what this is all about right um and that's also right I mean mobile you can probably relate to this I mean we have a few nft marketplaces building on top of Concord room at the moment um and and we have one called space seven as well I mean um they just didn't it was fun they did an ft drop um a month ago about uh with this big Ikea's a big goalkeeper uh football player right in in Europe and playing for Madrid for a long time um and before that they didn't really had a lot of adoption and then after that it brought in so much attention because you didn't bring in people that has a lot of followers that had a lot that has a big reach and then you sort of use them as a catalyst to maybe uh you know get people's curiosity right and I think that that's very important because otherwise you can have the best technology and you can have the best value propositions um but if you don't really get these sort of wins from Big brands from Big personalities it's difficult right um so yeah Holger now takes us to the other side of the coin addressing the potential downsides when Brands engage with blockchain technology simply to ride the hype wave without a tangible use case yet he also shares an exciting real world example of how concordium's technology is being used by a state-owned Enterprise to Foster transparency and credibility in the realm of green energy let's listen in there's two sides to it right because I mean when you are in this space as we all are sometimes it can also be a bit annoying with these hype just for the hype C right I mean then you know that some of these Brands goes into just for the hype there's no real world use case right and that's what gets a little bit annoying sometimes because then it seems a bit fluffy and then it's not really about what the decentralized technology is about then it's a then it's about writing that height wave of this new disruptive technology without actually using it so in that sense I definitely agree with you Katrina because that is that is a poor point but I mean let me just give you a quick recap of something um I mean because at concordance we're very focused on some of these real world use cases and we actually have what you call an a state-owned company a transmission system operator um building on top of Concord um and basically what it is that they use this blockchain for is to contribute to the Danish transmission systems with a green energy certificate platform right um and the central element is the solution It's Just Energy certificates right so I mean on a granular level when you link the production of energy with consumption right so I mean it's it's a registration method for power production and power consumption that has been developed and then you actually for the first time makes it possible for all companies that uses electricity that comes from this TSO to document exactly how much of their power consumptions come from a green sustainable power source right which is really important right because then you can combat stuff like green washing and this is a what can you say a class Triple A example of what a blockchain and a permissionless system should be used to to create transparency and to enhance credibility right because so many organizations out there they are doing green washing right they're saying that they're green and they're saying that they're carbon neutral but they're not at all right because there's so much scam and stuff done with some of these carbon credits and that is a real world use case that people can actually relate to but it's not as exciting as Starbucks right shifting gears Holger Ponders over the remarkable potential of blockchain technology in addressing one of today's pressing issues data privacy the concept of self-sovereign identity is brought to light showcasing how decentralization can Empower individuals to reclaim control over their personal data concordium's work in this space exemplifies the transformative potential of blockchain in creating a more secure and private digital world it's so important sometimes also take a step back and then look at where we are right now and say okay what exactly about decentralized technology can alleviate some of the biggest problems and biggest hurdles right now right and now that you mention it about decentralized data storage right I mean something that I think blockchain technology can really help with is is I mean decentralized self-sovereign identity right I mean so because currently we all and we see this all the time right you have decentralized uh Federated identity management systems which are used to to manage digital identities right so they store all of your personal identifiable information in central databases everywhere and I mean here we talk about emails usernames passwords everything right login credentials that you use to Google Facebook YouTube everything right but I mean the beautiful thing about actually having self-sovereign identity I mean having your own data own personal identifiable data in your own wallet on your own phone and then be able through your knowledge proofs like as a cryptographic method to through access points uh log in on and get access to certain decentralized applications or certain websites or whatever it would be right because then you don't store your information anywhere else you keep it in your own wallet so there's so much the data privacy issues that you completely eradicate right I mean there's so many problems out there right now in ribs who do you completely eradicate by doing it like this and I think I mean this is this is something that a lot of people actually aren't aware of but but but but blockchain technology and decentralized Technology can Empower individuals to have complete ownership and complete control over their data right and I mean what I who I mean what individual wouldn't like that I mean I don't think I've made any individual person who wouldn't want full control of full ownership over their ID and their personal data everyone wants that right so I think but of course the technology is maybe not mature enough yet I mean where I work at Concord we're really working on this with self-sovereign ID so go check it out it's really interesting but I think that is one of the things that will actually also create Mass adoption because that is a pain point that is a hurdle right now in web 2 and that is actually a problem that web free can easily solve right as we delve deeper into the realm of decentralization Holger addresses an intriguing conundrum the double-edged sword of decentralized Technologies on one hand governments can misuse this technology for excessive control demonstrated by China's extensive use of Central Bank digital currencies on the other hand these Technologies hold the promise of financial inclusion capable of revolutionizing access to financial services for the unbanked it's a delicate balance to strike and a fascinating dialogue to engage in we see this in a lot of controlling more governmental Parts where they actually try to slow down adoption right this slow Trend and and and and and legalize their way out of it I mean so just before you take over I mean that is that is a very very uh similar thing that we see a lot of places right um and then as you also can say if you look at China and the social credit scoring model if you look at how they would want to use a central bank digital currency I mean I would take a step back and say it can also that technology can also be used in too much of a controlling way right there's definitely some good aspects of it but too much of a controlling way where you completely eradicate and and get rid of of everything that's personal free movement right because they can freeze they can freeze your accounts they can do anything they want basically so then they really take power away right so I mean this technology can also be used not for the greater good but for something that's actually worse which is more control just take a quick clarification either I didn't mean any stereotypes about anything the only reason that I use China as an example is because they are actually the country in the world who's furthest ahead on the development of the Central Bank digital currency right I mean it happens at a persistent low adoption rate but they are about by far the ones who has the most Central Bank digital currencies entities in circulation right and I also think they I just read an article the other day that it reached over a quarter billion wallets as I mean that is also an impressive statistics now that we are talking about Mass adoption for decentralized Technologies but it's but it's also interesting right because then we're talking about essential Bank digital currency as adoption for decentralized Technologies but I mean I so I work a lot with decentralized Finance where I come from right and and I mean the first thing I always talk about when I talk about D5 is and I think you mentioned it as well Katrina's Financial inclusion right removing the need for intermediaries such as banks financial institutions and enables uh individuals or we refer to melodically unbanked to Access Financial Services right yeah and when you're talking about suppressed regions developing countries I mean where they lack the necessary it could be identification documents uh access to Traditional Bank just access to traditional Finance infrastructure right but then you can you can Bank these people and you can provide them with these tools decentralized Finance tools right and I mean but that is a whole other side of it right so and again that goes back to what we started to talk about in the beginning sometimes you also get a bit lost in the narrative right and we get a bit lost on what actually constitutes decentralized technology and when is it not decentralized technology anymore um and I think that is an an interesting discussion to have as well in the wake of the bear Market funding for Innovative projects becomes a challenge Holger gives us a glimpse into the obstacles of raising capital in a recessive market and the resulting impact on technological research and development let's hear him explain how this environment is affecting projects building on concordium and Beyond it can be very challenging doing a serious a even a serious B right now right do I mean raising Capital uh in this market um I mean um the overall valuations of these products are 10 15 times less than what they were one and a half years ago right and that is also because you don't set aside a lot of money for research and development when there's a recession right or if you are close to entering into a recession it's more about staying afloat it's not about in looking into what new exciting disruptive Technologies are out there that can disrupt your whole business model right um so I mean I definitely agree with that we experience that with a lot of projects building on concordum as well actually slowing a bit down because it's difficult for them to get a capital injection it's difficult for them to find VCS who want to throw money after right now unless they really have a good value proposition and really in like also experiences usual adoption in Obama because that is the real impressive stuff right to get used to adoption in the bear Market that is uh that is difficult is there a meaningful intersection between Ai and blockchain or is it all just hype in the final segment Holger discusses this fascinating juncture he highlights the value blockchain can bring to the AI landscape from bolstering data integrity and Trust to aiding in the detection of deep fakes let's dive into his insights you can use blockchain technology to sort of um I mean what can you say um give data more integrity and give it more trust right because a lot of these last language models a lot of these NLP algorithms they are trained on on data sets right and you need to to you can use the blockchain here to sort of ensure that you have data Integrity to ensure you have trust right because um it there are so many problems around that right now so you can create full bulletproof audit Trails which is really important and you can validate certain data sets we can be really important right um and and and that is one way for blockchain to sort of what can you say create a more safer digital world with the use of AI because it's it's sort of facilitates a more safer use of AI right and also if you mentioned activity there are so many deep fakes out there right now uh pictures of people that aren't really those people uh voices of people that aren't really that their voice right but the there you can use an identity Solution on the blockchain to check the person and then every time the real person that's speaking then you know it's the real person every time it's a defect then you know it's a deep fake right so I mean blockchain technology can and will be used as the underlying technology to ensure safe use of AI and I think that is the real story here right so we should just jump on that hype wave right and I think it's a great addition to the question Katarina what can blockchain do for AI as well right I think that it's it's a it's a potential marriage made in heaven with a lot of use cases only being discovered now right um and and I think that is that that is one of the um yeah yeah to wrap up things Holger circles back to the beginning underscoring the importance of regulatory Clarity in the blockchain landscape he highlights the importance of regulatory sandboxes particularly as implemented by the EU in fostering development and Adoption of blockchain before we proceed to holger's closing thoughts I'd like to kindly remind you to consider delegating to Baker 85223 now let's turn our attention back to Holger okay but I'll give a final remark as well um I mean I only learned a couple of months ago that for instance the EU where I work where can call them is it works as well the mucine marketing crypto assets they just launched like a new regulatory blockchain sandbox for projects to go in test develop build and then they are really being taught around how stuff should be done to gain legal Clarity right you should go check that out that is pretty cool because I think these test environments and sandboxes is really what will drive organizational institutional adoption why because it will then be done in a proper way a bit more of a geeky less words but yeah foreign
2023-06-20 23:52
