Abstract

The evolution of crypto can be analyzed from the essential components of design, development, and deployment. For modern systems to function, they require a combination of people, process and technology. These elements also set the foundations of innovation. The crypto sphere has created a radical redistribution of the social-economic power hierarchy. This power hierarchy is seemingly upside-down when compared to the “real-world”. Process and technology have evolved to code-based governance, and people can be represented as virtual entities. What does this mean to blockchain innovation, and how will crypto evolve with a continued redistribution of power and wealth?

In this third and final part of this series, we explore the creation of the Virtual State™ fueled by crypto ideologies, and its underlying cryptoversification of Internet services.

Virtual State™

The Borderless Citizen™ paradigm is not complete without considering its evolution. If cryptoversification sets the stage for anonymity, decentralization, and autonomy, then these individuals will need a virtual playground to exist. An existence that is entirely virtual, personified by fortified rules. Many actors are already virtual citizens in compartmentalized cyberspace. They may not be recognized as a Borderless Citizen™, but their identity and purpose are virtual – even if they eat, sleep and breath in the real world.

The crypto generation may not be the creator of the Virtual State™, but its ideology will play a foundational role in its creation. The desire for anonymity and freedom will be driving forces to the creation of a future virtual existence. One where the voice of state authorities will be boycotted.

Activities in the Virtual State™ may imply impunity from shameful behavior. But every system still needs its own rules, and code of conduct. A system is unusable without defined constraints. For example, the underlying mantra in the real-world is “What is not forbidden is allowed”. In other words, civil society can do anything unless it is forbidden by law. In the Virtual State™, the challenge will be to programmatically define acceptable constraints that maintain functional freedoms while programming rules that don’t inhibit freedom. The unregulated nature of crypto criminality and fraud may only scratch the surface to the wild west that the Virtual State™ may introduce.

The notion of actors playing out their lives in a Virtual State™ may seem far-fetched, but if technology evolves to where consciousness can be downloaded to a computer, then science fiction will become reality. The “2045 Initiative”^[i] promotes research to understand the human brain to the point where memories and consciousness can be copied and stored electronically^[ii], predicting that within this century a virtual existence will be possible. If this comes to fruition, then a multistakeholder approach will be needed to consider the legalities of virtual existence.

Are You Ready for the Future?

What does crypto mean for the future? If bitcoin is the first currency, “By the people, for the people, and of the people”^[iii], what will the next decade bring, and how will society evolve in the presence of Pandemic Protocols?

Looking into crypto’s crystal ball, is the expectation utopian or dystopian? Utopian in a sense that citizens are protected, safe, and can maintain their privacy. Where citizens are free, and human rights are respected. Or will the dystopian vision prevail where big brother watches every step? Chaos, anarchy, and corruption are waiting around every corner. Where monopolies manipulate markets and there is lawlessness throughout the land?

? Down the Crypto Rabbit Hole

If you liked this article and would like to read all of them in this series, then please click on the links below:

? 17 ? Introduction

? 18 ? Defining Borders

? 19 ? Pandemic Protocols

? 20 ? State Enforcement

? 21 ? What’s Next

? 22 ? Code Governance, But

? 23 ? System Essentials

? 24 ? MultiStakeholders in Crypto

? 25 ? Cyber Principles

? 26 ? Borderless Citizen™

? 27 ? Virtual State™

? Borderless Citizens™ in the 21st Century

? What is Driving Crypto and the Creation of the Virtual State™?

? Will Pandemic Protocols Establish a Utopian Economy?

About the Author

Gabriel is the co-Founder and General Manager at Adel Ecosystem Ltd. He is a seasoned sales and marketing expert with over 25 years in senior positions at Motorola, VeriSign (acquired by Symantec in 2010), and SecureWorks (acquired by Dell in 2011), and Cognitive Security (acquired by Cisco in 2013). He is a blockchain entrepreneur, with strengths in international business strategy. Gabriel has a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from McMaster University in Canada and expert knowledge in blockchain incubation, cloud computing, IT security, and video streaming, and Over the Top Content (OTT). Gabriel also runs his own company, Euro Tech Startups s.r.o, creator of MyKoddi, and manages a professional blog.