The war between blockchains should stop to speed up adoption

We all remember what the 2008 subprime mortgage debacle was like. The situation was so destructive and nearly broke the global banking system that words like subprime loans, credit default swaps and debt obligations – usually part of investment banking jargon – became part of the general vocabulary.

Because of this in 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto released the very first Bitcoin genesis block, or block zero. Embedded in it was a quote, “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” This was around the same time as the “Occupy Wall Street” protests that showed public anger against the excesses of traditional finance.

If you think about it, with all the problems in the banking industry, the crypto industry could have leveraged the animosity towards traditional finance to increase public adoption. Unfortunately, crypto is a tribal world. Often we are treated to the spectacle of competing chains thrashing each other, of well-publicized blockchain projects like Terra Luna, Celsius and FTX/Alameda blowing up spectacularly with many investors hurt.

But with all the mudslinging going around the various crypto tribes, try asking people on the street what a blockchain or crypto is. Granted, many people already trade it, but even those who buy it regularly may not fully conceptually understand what a blockchain is, which is a replicated data structure that keeps a history of all transaction records.

Instead, what the public thinks about it is based on scammers, swindlers, “pet rock” labels, soundbites from the likes of Warren Buffett and so on. Clearly, much needs to be done to clean up the act. Simple explanations, and not buzzwords like on-chain metrics, FUD, FOMO, WAGMI, HODL, etc., would really help.

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Contrary to what some may think, regulation will be good for the industry. Along with artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, nuclear fusion and other new technologies, crypto and blockchain should be viewed positively by the public for their benefits. Some of these benefits include cheaper transfers, secure records, cheaper transaction costs, banking services for the unbanked and so on. Instead, it’s getting the cold shoulder at the moment.

Crypto/blockchain needs to break out of its early anti-establishment punk days and association with shady sites like The Silk Road. Instead, it must be associated with the needs of the common man, but also with hedge funds such as Blackrock, sovereign wealth funds and exchange-traded funds, to smooth out the variations from retail investors.

Sometimes we are so caught up in internal warfare among the chains and symbols that we fail to realize the common people who have no idea what we are talking about. Remember: traditional finance could lose trillions if crypto and blockchain take over their business as they usually do.

Any victory of one chain against other chains is only a pyrrhic victory for the entire industry if everyone collapses. Traditional finance and the media just laugh and watch us burn our own ships.

Zain Jaffer is CEO of Zain Ventures with a focus on investments in Web3 and real estate.

This article was published through the Cointelegraph Innovation Circle, a researched organization of top executives and experts in the blockchain technology industry who are building the future through the power of connections, collaboration and thought leadership. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Cointelegraph.

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