We Need to Prepare for Mass Blockchain Adoption
Blockchain and crypto enthusiasts like me were delirious to know that the government of India is experimenting and researching blockchain technology for mainstream purposes. This in itself can be considered a major win since opening up blockchain technology to a country of more than a billion people can become a model and heavily influence the adoption of blockchain technology in other countries. India’s Ministry of electronics and Information technology (MeitY), through a written submission in Lok Sabha, lower house of parliament, said that it was “considering the potential of Blockchain technology and the need for shared infrastructure for different use cases.”
Blockchain tech is bound to influence various industries in India — right from healthcare to banking and finance. The MeitY hopes to transform governance and administration activities by migrating systems to blockchains for better connectivity and surveillance. In the past, multiple initiations — both by government and privatised sectors — were taken to incorporate blockchain technology, such as :
- The country’s central bank — the Reserve Bank of India created a research unit to experiment and explore applications of AI, blockchain and cryptocurrency in financial markets.
- The Indian states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh experimented with the usage of blockchain in land registries to break out of their current system. Real estate and blockchain make an interesting pair.
- The Tea and Coffee industry in India is relying on the blockchain to keep a record of the supply and distribution of raw products.
- The Indian state of Maharashtra has announced the implementation of blockchain for streamlining of agriculture marketing, supply chain, vehicle registration and document management system.
- Tech Mahindra, India’s information and technology service provider, announced its joint venture with Netherlands-based blockchain application incubator Quantoz to provide secure digital payments.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. A large number of blockchain based research and practical applications are being undertaken by the State as well as the private sector. The success of the experiments and demo runs should lead to a nation-wide blockchain mass adoption of blockchain technology in every framework and system in India. The traditional systems and methodologies will be shunned and decentralized P2P ledger technology will be incorporated.
This leads us to understand a crucial aspect involving mass blockchain adoption. It is a proven fact that those organisations and individuals who were able to gauge and then act upon the phenomenal potential of the internet in an early stage, rode the wave of success. This was in a stark contrast to their peers who undermined and ridiculed the revolutionary abilities of the internet. As we all know, and as I refer to it myself, blockchain is the next internet. Therefore the need to better familiarize and understand this distributive ledger by the general public precedes the mass adoption. We now move to an important segment of our discussion.
Need for education of blockchain
The darkness of ignorance can only be vanquished by the illumination of the books
-Ancient proverb
For a major segment of the population, blockchain remains an unknown technology. This necessitates the requirement for enlightening the masses about its structure and functionality. Educating the public about the features of this tech will obviously generate awareness crucial to mass blockchain adoption. Once users have a basic understanding of the workings of blockchains, they will easily be able to use these decentralized ledgers in daily life. This move will also propel the rate of adoption of this paradigm-breaking technology in institutions of daily use. Therefore government and private bodies supervising the education system should readjust the planned curriculum. Programmes and courses focused on blockchain technology should be readily added and made available at affordable rates.
Awareness regarding ongoing and upcoming projects
Apart from educating the general public on how to use blockchain technology, a deeper emphasis should be focused on bringing the ongoing and finished blockchain centric projects to mainstream platforms. This should empower the public to gain a first-hand experience of the disruptive nature of blockchain technology. The presence of blockchain technology in the mainstream should encourage a sense of urgency and motivate the public to educate themselves. Another positive impact that we may see is the acceptance and desire to experiment with blockchain in the younger generation. This will heavily influence the upgradations and nature of blockchain technology in the future.
Blockchain: As an Industry
So far, my previous posts have discussed how the disruptive nature of blockchain technology can worldwide transform major industries. Since the blockchain is now, more than ever, perceived independently from the realms of cryptocurrencies and is influencing other industries, it’s important to recognise it as an upcoming industry itself. This statement can be substantiated by the fact that blockchain has given rise to another wave of developers who are now focused on experimenting with blockchain tech apart from the traditional languages and systems. The inclusion and investment of A-league organisations in capacitating and forging blockchain technology is another testimony as to how blockchain has become a multi-billion dollar industry.
The rise and subsequent functioning of a new industry is always a welcoming situation. In a time of rise in global unemployment and declining daily wages, the blockchain, in addition to helping out in the coronavirus crisis, has positioned itself as another sector of employment. This is bound to have a welcoming response among the general public. Plus, the circulation of money and other financial resources due to the blockchain industry should positively impact the global economic ecosystem. With the right implementation and response, the blockchain in India will pave the way as a model for adoption in other countries. This is crucial to the future of blockchain on the global tech-platform, and to the country as well. Let’s hope that blockchain adoption in India will have a liberating effect that will transform one of the world’s oldest civilisations. As I always say — exciting times ahead!
