Cisco, the tech giant that helped usher in the internet age in the 1980s and 1990s, claims in a new report that 10% of the world’s GDP is likely to be stored on blockchains by 2027. This astonishing claim adds weight to those who feel that blockchain can revolutionize many areas of commerce and attract the biggest companies in the world. Although the focus of the report is on Cisco’s growing blockchain offering, following other blue chip tech companies such as IBM into the sector, also offers hope to those worried that the crypto bear market has sounded the death knell for blockchain.
The Future’s Bright, the Future’s Blockchain
Cisco focuses on trust as the main problem that blockchain solves, calling its ability to automate trust the “true innovation of blockchain” and something that will “fundamentally transform the way we do business”. It also discusses the movement of risk management from banks, governments, and corporations to organizations themselves as a positive thing that will “deliver efficiencies and new business value in excess of $3 trillion by 2030”. Supply chains, the Internet of Things, and smart cities are also ripe for creation or revolution, says Cisco, stating that blockchain technology can “transform industries that today rely on centralized infrastructure and business processes.” The report concludes that “Blockchain has the potential to change the rules by automating trust, increasing transparency, and simplifying business processes.” These are big claims, and surely good news for beleaguered crypto holders, who are seeking some profits from their holdings.
Not Quite Party Time
Before bagholders get out the party hats and put the champagne on ice, it must be remembered that public blockchains, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, are not, broadly speaking, what enterprise is looking at. Cisco might be part of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, but by and large corporations will want private, permissioned blockchains that only they and their closest agencies will have access to. There are of course some of these in existence, and projects like VeChain have deals with firms such as PwC, BMW, and DNV GL, but there is no saying that these will turn into fruitful, working partnerships in the long term – many “partnerships” are just glorified memorandums of understanding. JPMorgan decided to create their own coin instead of using an existing project such as XRP, with Facebook and Telegram going the same route. With the likes of IBM and now Cisco joining the space, is it really thinkable that billion-dollar companies will risk an EOS or a Cardano instead of these well known and hugely respected names? As the saying goes, ‘nobody ever got fired for choosing IBM’. Sorry bagholders, you’re still waiting on a bull run.
