Australia is ahead of the herd in blockchain adoption.
This is the opinion of the Huffington Post.
And with good reason.
The World Economic Forum believes 10% of global GDP will be stored on blockchain by 2027.
Treasurer Scott Morrison has been upbeat since June. He argued that there will be
‘significant productivity, security and efficiency gains’ for the Australian economy.
Here are a few more recent examples of blockchain adoption.
October 2017: Australian university rewards students with ethereum for purchasing apps made on campus.
September 2017: Blockchain nominated as the tool most likely to support the digital economy.
August 2017: Three thousand bitcoin ATM’s introduced to Australia.
July 2017: The Australian government ended the double taxation plan for bitcoin. Instead recognising bitcoin as a legitimate payment source.
ASX Also Leading the Way
Globally, the ASX is also leading the way in terms of its application to exchanges.
It will use the technology to settle equity trades almost instantly, instead of two days after the trade.
This is due before the end of the year.
But the most exciting Australian blockchain news came this week.
Two Australian blockchain projects are growing rapidly.
Power Ledger is one of them. And is up 792% this month alone.
The federal government pledged support to the tune of $8 million.
It aims to trade power peer-to-peer.
A world-first trial for 80 homes is about to commence in Fremantle.
Trading water and electricity home to home, without support from the major power grids.
The second project, Horizon State, has just completed a very successful ICO.
Its price is up 48% in the last three days.
Horizon State (HST) aims to ‘redesign democracy.’
The team have created a digital ballot box that can be used to conduct votes quickly, cheaply and securely.
Forbes had this to say in October;
‘This is set to be a global gamechanger and will soon be adopted by political parties, multinational enterprises, global NGOs and communities in developing countries.’
The Commonwealth Bank is also searing a path for the world’s banks with blockchain adoption.
In 2016, the CBA conducted a world first experiment of blockchain ‘smart contracts’ using physical commodities.
The experiment involved a container vessel carrying 88 bales of cotton between Houston and a port in Qingdao, China.
Bankers on two continents watched on closely.
The outcome of the test would concern many.
Smart-contracts are digital agreements. They ensure the conditions of the contract are met digitally before releasing funds.
They act as the middle man.
In fact, they replace the middle man.
In this instance, cotton bales were tracked from Houston to Qingdao.
As the port staff scanned the bales, the ownership of the goods was transferred and the payment released.
This might underwhelm you.
But the off-shoots of this experiment are the beginning of the end for many ‘trust’ based industries.
No Intention to Ban the Bitcoin Economy
The main industries this technology will disrupt is banking, along with law, real estate, media and all intellectual property companies.
All industries that typically involve acting as the middlemen in matters of trust.
The take-away from all of this is that Australia has no intention to ban the bitcoin economy.
In fact, our government and institutions are leading the world in its commercial adoption.
Regards,
Dion Dalton-Bridges,
Junior Analyst, Money Morning
PS: To find out more about the secret world of bitcoin, click here.