A Chain Of Benefits

A better understanding of blockchain technology raises its appeal, and highlights its potential applications for the future

- Sameer Dharap

In the first week of January 2018, the combined market capitalization of all crypto currencies hit $800bn, but regulations imposed by some of the countries, along with speculation and panic-selling have seen the current market capitalization fall to $300bn, according to Mr. Sameer Dharap, VP Block chain Applications at XinFin. The 2008 crisis had the banks’ role as the central authority and trusted custodian of money questioned. The same year also saw the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto releasing a white paper on Bitcoin, and subsequently the block chain technology behind it gained global attention. 

“Today, there are over 1,500 crypto currencies listed on the Coin market cap website (www.coinmarketcap.com), and obviously some of the governments are not liking the associated risks (AML/CFT), and challenging the authority of the central banks,” Mr. Dharap says. Investor protection – from fraud, exchange hacking, crypto jacking, etc. – in a decentralized environment where no one authority controls the operations or scams pertaining to Ponzi schemes and raising funds via crypto currency (ICO) is getting active attention, he adds. A greater need is being felt to regulate this market, and all concerned authorities are evaluating options.

“While some governments see this as a risk, and have completely banned cryptocurrencies, others have announced plans to launch their own national cryptocurrency. Most of the others are governments in various phases of evaluating the pros and cons of cryptocurrency. However, all of them unanimously agree that the underlying block chain technology holds the potential to fundamentally reshape the way we trust and exchange value through an agreed medium,” Mr. Dharap elaborates.

A Formidable Team