Why the future of Web3 will be more than crypto and blockchain

So you’ve been involved in the Australian Web3 space for a number of years, how has it evolved since you started?

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When I started, our member base was primarily crypto- and blockchain-focused startups. There were no other verticals or industries involved. And then we saw that undercurrent of curiosity from the big four banks and other traditional financial firms investing in blockchain research. Some of these projects fell through; they may have been a little ahead of their time, but they still looked at it.

About 18 months ago I started getting really shocked every time we got a new member request. These days we have music, we have supply chains, energy and carbon and water businesses, major universities developing their own courses, insurance and recruitment, accounting, IoT and robotics and gaming. All these verticals come in together.

I think each of these industries is on a 10-year innovation timeline, and at the end of it, they’re all going to be profoundly different from what they are now because blockchain is the new internet.

Now I say blockchain, but I should probably correct myself and say distributed ledger technology (DLT) instead. Contrary to industry opinion, I have a different view on how long blockchain will be important. I think there will be other DLTs that surpass it.

Why do you think that?

This could get me in trouble with all the religious blockchain believers out there. Industries may decide that they don’t necessarily need a decentralized ledger, they just need a distributed ledger. It doesn’t have to be open and free.

However, what they need is speed, data transfer and security. So that’s where I think DLTs like directed acyclic graphs can outperform blockchain because it just has the features that blockchain doesn’t have at this point.

I think it’s very naive to think that one technology will just be here forever. We must be ready to innovate, be ready to accept that change is coming and embrace it. Otherwise, we’ll just be stuck in our own little way.

Given that there are now so many industries interested and building in Web3, does that raise the stakes for industry groups like Blockchain Australia?

Yes, it’s now more important than ever to really represent the technology because we have all these different industries currently playing in the sandbox. But the name of the organization itself, just sticking to “Blockchain”, I think we’re going to need a broader term that encompasses what it is we do and the wide range of verticals we represent. So I think next year things will change a bit.

Do you think some of this innovation will come with less reliance on cryptocurrencies and the financial incentive structures we see built around Web3 at the moment?

Definitely, we’re already moving away from that. When I first got into it, it was all about crypto, but now there is a definite difference. And I know because when I talk to my parents and my in-laws, who are 70 years old and just got into crypto themselves, they know the difference now.

And that’s so good. Back in 2016, I was a bit of a shady character to the rest of my family because back then there were a lot of scams. It was very difficult to go to those Christmas dinners and be that bitcoin person or that blockchain person.

How do you think Blockchain Australia is performing as a lobby group? Do you think you’ve been successful in getting your points across when you’ve spoken to authorities and regulators?

Over the past 12 months, we have been strongly focused on representing the sentiments of our members. As you can imagine, with so many different industries represented, it can be difficult at times to do so. We have had to set up different working groups to focus on certain regulatory points.

Previously, there was a view that the industry was fragmented. I think our role in Blockchain Australia is not just about lobbying, it’s about bringing people together and expressing their views as a cohort. And until recently it’s been hard to do that, but the way we’re moving now has forced everyone into the room to have a conversation.

I am excited about the coming years for Web3 in Australia. There is a lot more noise around the square because of all the different industries talking about it. All of these things happening in unison are going to make the next 12 months quite exciting.