The chairman of the Blockchain conference, Dr.Francis Chuka Agbu SAN FCIArb (UK) has likened the creation of the internet to that of blockchain technology in his opening remarks at the conference. The conference tagged; “Blockchain: Crypto-Arts and the Future of Money” was held at the Civic Centre Towers in Victoria Island, Lagos, yesterday, 11
The conference tagged; “Blockchain: Crypto-Arts and the Future of Money” was held at the Civic Centre Towers in Victoria Island, Lagos, yesterday, 11th September, 2021.
He started the opening remarks from an historical point of view noting that the internet started from the development of the ‘alphanet’ by the United States Army in the mid-20th century. The Soviet Union as well were developing a similar mechanism to aid communication among their army. The contestation between both led to the development of the Blockchain technology according to Dr. Francis;
The Soviet Union as well were developing a similar mechanism to aid communication among their army. The contestation between both led to the development of the Blockchain technology according to Dr. Francis;
“Now in a matter of speaking, the internet was born out of competition and a desire to reduce inefficiency. This is very much like the story of blockchain technology. It appears they are following same trajectory.”
Going further, he stated that Blockchain was created to provide competition for Fiat money and for central banks through a decentralized digital currency. Also, reduction in inefficiency by the conclusion of transactions in seconds is another way the Blockchain is built to compete with traditional finance.
Blockchain technology is poised to revolutionize businesses. He quoted the chairman of IBM that said “blockchain would do for transactions what the internet did for information.” Dr. Francis while commenting noted;
“We know where information is today and we can imagine where information would have been if there was no internet. It is the same blockchain is going to do for transactions.”
Applications of Blockchain
Dr. Francis went on to explain real world use cases and application of the blockchain technology. He listed a number of industries such as Food chain, Real estate, marketing and advertising, server security and financial services among others. Dwelling on the Food chain, he noted that the Nigerian economy faces a problem of proper documentation which the Blockchain technology can solve.
Dwelling on the Food chain, he noted that the Nigerian economy faces a problem of proper documentation which the Blockchain technology can solve.
“Taking Food chain in Nigeria as an example, at a recent seminar of the Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce held in May, 2021, there was a consensus that one of the major problems of agriculture exports in Nigeria is the lack of safety trust arising from the absence of proper documentation of product origin and handling process. Over 76% of Nigerian commodities are rejected by the European Union (EU) and it is reported that Nigeria loses an estimated $23 billion dollars in potential earnings as a result of improper documentation. Now this challenge can be resolved through a distributed and immutable ledger network such as the blockchain.”
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