This week, I would like to put some things in proper context for you. You probably have heard of cryptocurrencies and you most likely just view them as some form of internet money, period. Well, cryptocurrencies are more than just ‘currencies’. The technology on which they are built is actually the foundation of the new internet- yes, you read that right- The new internet

The internet of information, the first iteration of the internet

The internet, the world wide web became available to the public about 26 years ago (around 1992) and the information age began. All kinds of information became available to everyone. Whatever you wanted to do, you simply had to search for it on the internet and voila- there you go. In very simple terms, information became decentralized. With a little improvement, the internet of information morphed into a slightly superior form of itself, information became democratized. Some of us who have been around for a while remember the days when certain types of information could only be accessed certain traditional, centralized media outlets. Today in Nigeria for example, I could live my life, be well informed about all that is happening around me without engaging with any traditional news media institutions. There are countless numbers of blogs, operated by everyday citizens that have enough news content about happenings in and around Nigeria. One can be roundly informed in Nigeria today without recourse to traditional, institutionalized news media- In short, information became democratized by the advent of social media and social media platforms of the internet of information.

Ok, ok, I get it you may say, what then is the internet of value?

The internet of value

I’ll explain what the internet of value is, just follow me here. In the paragraphs above, I spoke about the internet of information and how someone can live in today’s world and be completely and roundly informed without having to rely on traditional news media ( in Nigeria those would be NTA,FRCN, VOICE of Nigeria, the myriads of private radio and television stations, print media- punch, this day, vanguard etc). there are scores of non-traditional news portal online where one can get all of one’s information e.g Linda Ikeji, Bella Naija etc. Heck, anyone can go online, register on a blog service like blogspot.com, and begin publishing his/her own news. When it comes to information, control of it and access to it has been democratized.

Now take the concept I just explained above and relate it to value (money). If you want to transfer say 5,000 naira to your brother living in another part of Nigeria, for example. To be able to do this, you first have to have a bank account. To open the bank account, you have to physically present yourself in the bank and register your details with them- Your age, where you live, they will like to know if you are single or married, what you had for breakfast (just kidding), you get my point. The bank will like to know everything they can about you. Without going through that third party- the bank, you cant move that value (the 5,00 naira) across the internet to your brother. A third party, an institution called a bank will stand in between yourself and your brother before that transaction can sail through. This is a direct example of where the transfer of value stands today on the internet. It’s not peer to peer. A bank stands between you and your brother and can determine whether or not they will allow the transaction to take place. They also reserve the right to determine what it will cost you to make the transaction (you don’t have any choice on this. They determine what percentage of that 5,000 naira they will receive as fee).

Another example of a lack of value transfer on the internet as it stands today is ride sharing as facilitated by the likes of uber, taxify etc. Yes, the innovation is genius, we all celebrate these platforms but there’s one thing that is overlooked and that is the position of the parent company. Uber for example, stands in between the rider and driver as a rent taker. The rider pays the driver and uber takes a cut from that as their own.

The internet of value is a decentralized economy……..

The future economy will be a decentralized one. Businesses and financial transactions will be peer to peer. As in the example above, in the near future, if you wanted to send 5,000 to your brother. You will simply have to take up your phone and transfer to him 5,000 naira worth of Bitcoin, Digibyte, Ethereum, EOS etc ( whatever the cryptocurrency of your choice is). A centralized financial institution i.e a bank will not be part of the transaction. The transaction will be a hundred percent peer to peer. Directly from you to your brother. Bitcoin/sound cryptocurrencies are a completely decentralized form of money. For example, there is no bitcoin company anywhere, there is no Digibyte company, same goes for ethereum and all other sound cryptocurrencies. The various networks of these cryptocurrencies are maintained by miners scattered all over the world (Block producers in the case of the Delegated proof of stake system). For a full understanding of how cryptocurrencies work, click here. This is the future we are headed. In fact, this is already happening now. In the mid to near term, companies like UBER might be disintermediated (disrupted) if they don’t evolve. A decentralized version of Uber can be built on Bitcoin or most preferably other platform economies like EOS, Zilliqa, Ethereum, Lisk etc. this decentralized version of a ride-sharing app will have no physical company behind it. It will be built on any of these decentralized platforms and will be automated i.e it will work on smart contracts. No company in between taking rents. This will automatically make the rides cheaper. A rider finds a ride-sharing app( actually a DApp, a decentralized app). He later realizes that the token (cryptocurrency that is used on the DApp to pay for rides) can be held for token appreciation. He/she enjoys the ride and its cost-effectiveness so he/she tells people within his/her network about the DApp. The more people use the DApp the more the value of its native token goes up. The driver’s interest is also in tandem with that of the riders. He/she would also have some tokens he/she has been paid in. the driver would want to give his/her best so that the riders would use the platform over and over again. In doing so the DApp ecosystem is improved. The native token appreciates and everyone wins.

This is the future the world is headed and as I write this, it is currently being built. The future is decentralized. The economy of the future is a decentralized one. Those who are early adopters and investor will see phenomenal financial gains as the world transitions into this decentralized economy.

If you would like to know how to begin to get involved and invest in decentralized blockchain startups, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies click here

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