Our “Down the Crypto Rabbit Hole” series has now been published.  Here are abstract summaries and links to each article, in case you missed any of them.

Borderless Citizens™ in the 21st Century

Thanks to the Internet and more recently, blockchain technology, the world is waking up to a political, economic, social and technological renaissance. The next two decades will result in a fundamental shift in human interaction, sharing, and freedom. All aspects of vertical and horizontal markets will be affected, including Finance & Banking, Healthcare, eGovernment, Communications, Information Technology (IT) and the Internet of things (IoT).

In the first part, the creation of virtual communities is explored, fueled by blockchain innovation and explores the evolution of the crypto sphere.

? 17 ? Introduction

? 18 ? Defining Borders

? 19 ? Pandemic Protocols

? 20 ? State Enforcement

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

Crypto services undermine traditional forms of governance because its users are anonymous. This assumes impunity from government and central authorities. The collective consensus of crypto coders, miners, and anonymous micro actors in a growing subculture. To date, crypto has been relatively untouched by the authorities of the “real-world” and raises important questions on about how this space should be regulated. Techno-Libertarians envision utopian self-regulation, with codified rules that evolve with its technology. Crypto-anarchists envision a free-rule zone for autonomous businesses and unconstrained virtual currencies. Anyone who denies these programmatic rules essentially forfeits their right to participate.

In the second section, the crypto power hierarchy will be defined as a basis for understanding its governance in contrast to the real world.

? 21 ? What’s Next

? 22 ? Code Governance, But

? 23 ? System Essentials

Will Pandemic Protocols Establish a Utopian Economy?

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 the 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.

? 24 ? MultiStakeholders in Crypto

? 25 ? Cyber Principles

? 26 ? Borderless Citizen™

? 27 ? Virtual State™

? Down the Crypto Rabbit Hole

? 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.

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.

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.

Cyber Principles

The formation of the internet has evolved considerably over three decades. This infrastructure is now considered by UNESCO as a basic human right, symbolic of the air human’s breath or access to freshwater. But the battle continues on the Net Neutrality^[i] front with varying opinions depending on political or social precedence. In as much as water is not a free commodity, the internet has similar actors wanting control.

Multistakeholder governance continues to be a defendant on a world’s stage of plaintiffs.

These principles that have driven the success of the internet to date, are just as important as its future goals^[ii]:

• Human Rights
• Open Tech Opportunities
• Accessible to All
• MultiStakeholder Engagement.

Bitcoin’s introduction may be considered a radical shift in this vision or it may be an evolution of the ideology of cyberspace as a whole. It could be argued that crypto’s overwhelming success has not been due to its underlying technology, but because of its ideology. For example, many technologies were groundbreaking innovations over the past decades, such as media streaming, social media, and peer-to-peer communications, but none have rivaled blockchain in crossing economic, social and geographic barriers. As with many revolutions, its origins evoke a chicken and egg debate: Did Satoshi Nakamoto^[iii] awaken this crypto ideology, or did society already evolve along the path?

What is clear is that crypto takes the notion of openness, accessibility, and freedom to a new level. This includes the residence to centralization, big brother oversight, and proprietary systems. In this sense, crypto is often synonymous with Internet v2.0^[iv].  Crypto may very well be a direct consequence of Net Neutrality, and the evolution of the Internet’s multi-stakeholder governance.

? 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.

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.

MultiStakeholders in Cyber

UNESCO continues to advocate a multistakeholder governance approach to the internet. This principle is based on the inclusion of several bodies cooperating to maintain a net neutrality approach to the Internet and cyberspace.

In contrast, the crypto community does not share this mindset and rather focuses on a tribal approach to governance. But the crypto community cannot evade the governance discussion for much longer. In these embryonic markets, the absence of standards leads to market fragmentation, a lack of consensus, and even chaos. In this scenario, all players of the power hierarchy suffer.

Evolving crypto to mainstream audiences will require a similar approach advocated by UNESCO, namely a multistakeholder governance. This will involve the participation of several private and public-sector stakeholders. Governance will be important in the standardization of technology and processes. Actors will have the freedom to follow or oppose governance. In any event, by establishing a consensus, the market has the potential to scale and mature. Standardizing technology requires convincing microbodies to follow an approach that is beneficial to all parties involved, as well as the markets they are trying to penetrate.

Initiatives will need to be built to invite appropriate parties to the table and establish a consensus. To crypto’s benefit, an established mandate exists in cyberspace and may be an effective model for crypto as well. The challenge is to bring disparate parties representing the public sphere, to the same table as those representing private advocacy groups^[i].

MultiStakeholders of Crypto

Thousands of computers hold copies of the bitcoin blockchain, making the infrastructure resilient and persistent. Blockchain technology is designed to be immune to shut down, even to those who created it. As previously discussed, this is the essence of Pandemic Protocols, and this technology is at the center of modern decentralized infrastructures. Another aspect playing out in the decentralized movement is more focused on the role that people play.

Components of the internet are owned and governed by different parties. In the same manner, nodes in a blockchain are globally owned and distributed. Collectively they represent the blockchain, but no single party owns the infrastructure. Distributed ownership is manageable within a single blockchain since code governance is the presiding medium of its rules. But scaling crypto to mainstream users requires a balanced engine of People, Process, and Technology, and this will require a dynamic shift in governance.

The central issue is that blockchain rules are established by “tribes”. Meaning that they each have their own community and their own micro-governance, but other blockchains are considered rivals. This tribal nature may be a reflection of market immaturity, but this is no excuse. Tribal societies lack the unity needed for mass adoption. Even real-world competitors work to agree on standards to expand their market potential. With no consensus, the crypto community will not attract a mainstream audience and risks becoming a niche player, relegated to the depths of the darknet^[ii]. For this reason, the crypto sphere is at the right market maturity to support Multistakeholder governance.

Globalization required consensus, and crypto is not immune to the prerequisite of standardization. Mature industries over the centuries have evolved globally because they accepted industry standards. The ITU is a testament to that success. We would be a different word if utilities such as electricity used a variant of voltages and frequencies in each city. The automotive industry would be very different if cars had fifty variants for petrol. A proven sales tactic states, “Give customers ten choices and they won’t know which one to choose, but give them two, and they will choose one”. When industry leaders agree on standards, then consumers have easier decisions. Industry leaders have a responsibility to harmonize the market and create the foundations for innovation and scalability. Competition still plays a role, but society typically embraces the simplicity and elegance of standards. For this reason, it is the responsibility of the infrastructure players to work towards the same goal.

The next evolution in crypto is standards and consensus through multistakeholder governance.

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.

Abstract

Crypto services undermine traditional forms of governance because its users are anonymous. This assumes impunity from government and central authorities. The collective consensus of crypto coders, miners, and anonymous micro actors in a growing subculture. To date, crypto has been relatively untouched by the authorities of the “real-world” and raises important questions on about how this space should be regulated. Techno-Libertarians envision utopian self-regulation, with codified rules that evolve with its technology. Crypto-anarchists envision a free-rule zone for autonomous businesses and unconstrained virtual currencies. Anyone who denies these programmatic rules essentially forfeits their right to participate.

In this second section, the crypto power hierarchy will be defined as a basis for understanding its governance in contrast to the real world.

System Essentials

Understanding crypto requires an analysis of the equation and makes these platforms happen. Modern systems are run by a combination of people, process, and technology: whether it be in government, companies, or our personal lives. Technology is foundational to enabling systems to function and grow efficiently.

Every industry requires rules and procedures that allow humans to collectively utilize resources in the most efficient way possible. In the System Essentials equation, this resides in Process. For example, a person may use software to develop a new car engine. But that goal requires a project plan, timeline, and the coordination of many individuals to achieve this goal. Harmony is achieved when People bring innovation and Technology is an effective instrument. The process is then used to scale the solution. The process is also used to govern the system in question, with the help of technology.

“People add vulnerability to a system
 by their mere presence.”

In the blockchain, it is generally agreed that the combination of Process and Technology establishes programmatic self-governance. Blockchain rules are implemented in code, for the system to be self-sustaining.

Smart Contracts is a blockchain application where terms are agreed and written in code. Settling contracts are programmatic, eliminating the need for a human arbitrator. In this example process and technology work in harmony to settle contracts, removing the subjectiveness of people.

The self-governing autonomy of blockchain breaks down when people are involved. Humans are the strongest and weakest links of the Systems Essentials equation. People leave vulnerabilities in code, intentionally or not, for others to exploit. For example, a system can have the best security in the world, but clever social engineering techniques such as, “I am the new admin, please send me your password”, has led to massive security breaches[i]. The bottom line is that throughout blockchain’s first decade, code-based governance has not been sufficient to protect the crypto ecosystem and its users. The crypto community can learn a few things from the banks they are trying to topple. Understanding the weakest links in the System Essentials equation helps to systematically mitigate vulnerabilities.

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.

Abstract

Crypto services undermine traditional forms of governance because its users are anonymous. This assumes impunity from government and central authorities. The collective consensus of crypto coders, miners, and anonymous micro actors in a growing subculture. To date, crypto has been relatively untouched by the authorities of the “real-world” and raises important questions on about how this space should be regulated. Techno-Libertarians envision utopian self-regulation, with codified rules that evolve with its technology. Crypto-anarchists envision a free-rule zone for autonomous businesses and unconstrained virtual currencies. Anyone who denies these programmatic rules essentially forfeits their right to participate.

In this second section, the crypto power hierarchy will be defined as a basis for understanding its governance in contrast to the real world.

Code Governance, But…

One intention of blockchain is code-based governance, but the results to date have not been entirely positive. The crypto sphere is plagued with corruption, fraud, theft, and misappropriation. So how has this been possible in light of tight rules and high security in the bitcoin blockchain, designed to prevent fraud?

Criminals are often the first to recognize the potential of new technology to exploit human and technical vulnerabilities. The press helps to taint the industry with a rubber neck society more interested in bad news than good news. Proponents of blockchain consider this a temporary label while the technology matures. The inception of home computing in the 1980s had its own challenges when the industry lacked useful applications, and in the 1990’s when the Internet lacked the “World Wide Web”[i] information space. Decades of development have evolved cyber into useful content and applications, and consumers automatically bypass the 99.9% percent of content that doesn’t interest them.

Understanding blockchain’s vulnerabilities require a breakdown of its weaknesses. With any new platform that has yet to be hardened[ii], nefarious parties look for a quick win. Criminals target a weakness in the technology, processes, or people – the latter representing a most vulnerable component of any system. In the business world, these security vulnerabilities are called, “low hanging fruits”[iii], and criminals run their empires similar to any legitimate business. Security issues do not necessarily reside in the blockchain itself, but within the service layers on top. It’s analogous to building a house with the ground floor secured with the most sophisticated locks in the industry, but the second floor has yet to install a roof. Popular fraud involves phishing[iv] emails with a, “click on my link” approach, which installs a zero-day exploit kit[v], or some variant of a zero-pixel iframe with exploit code, when the victim clicks on a web link[vi].

In any case, targeting weaknesses in technology, process or people is the tip of the iceberg. The bitcoin blockchain wanted to remove traditional middlemen from the finance supply chain, and directly connect buyers and sellers. But this proved impractical for the same reason it’s impractical for citizens to buy petrol directly from an oil drilling company. Middlemen connect big industries to the common person. Middlemen offer services that ease the complexity of the supplier and bring their product to the consumer’s front door. The same has evolved in the blockchain. Services such as crypto trading exchanges began launching in 2013[vii], allowing a new wave of trading opportunities for millennials. The catch was users needing to give up their bitcoin private keys to the trading service. This immediately negated the benefits of blockchain’s decentralized resilience and established a layer of vulnerability on top of the bitcoin blockchain. All private keys were now residing in a central repository. With improper security in place, a clever criminal realizes he can climb onto the second floor of a trading service with no roof – and steal everything.

Banks have decades of experience protecting their infrastructures. They utilize the ISO 27001 security best practices[viii]. They use the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)[ix] to protect their credit and debit cards. But many blockchain coders do not have data security at the top of their agenda, utilizing these common frameworks. This has led to a series of massive crypto heists[x]. These breaches continue to plague the industry. The graph above showcases a selection of the largest hacks. What is astonishing is when breaches are brought to the context of their current value. These samples alone represent loses of over 13 billion US$:

Systematic crypto fraud cannot be entirely blamed on their respective development code. People are the weakest link. Blockchain services created additional layers of middlemen to enhance service offerings and expand market potential. But each layer introduces a new set of weaknesses.

While Satoshi Nakamoto set out to negate the centralized power of governments and central banks, Bitcoin has reestablished new monopolies with five miners currently control 80 percent of the mining pool[xi]. Crypto-Anarchists may argue that this is completely fine because the open market decides on how everything plays out. But the counter-argument is that monopolies are not good for innovation and healthy market expansion. Monopolies lead to market manipulation, predatory pricing, and highway robbery. In brick and mortar, the crypto community views banks and governments as the puppet masters, but crypto has its own problems. Recent studies attribute the Bitcoin spike to 16000 Euros in December 2017 to manipulation[xii].

“The threat of monopolies leads to speculation that
all players in the crypto trading market are puppets to unseen, and omnipresent puppet masters”[xiii].

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.

Abstract

Crypto services undermine traditional forms of governance because its users are anonymous. This assumes impunity from government and central authorities. The collective consensus of crypto coders, miners, and anonymous micro actors in a growing subculture. To date, crypto has been relatively untouched by the authorities of the “real-world” and raises important questions about how this space should be regulated. Techno-Libertarians envision utopian self-regulation, with codified rules that evolve with its technology. Crypto-anarchists envision a free-rule zone for autonomous businesses and unconstrained virtual currencies. Anyone who denies these programmatic rules essentially forfeits their right to participate.

In this second section, the crypto power hierarchy will be defined as a basis for understanding its governance in contrast to the real world.

What’s Next?

States have many legal challenges in cyberspace. The introduction of crypto has further complicated these efforts by orders of magnitude. Anonymity, Pandemic Protocols, and the over-arching removal of Big Brother’s oversight have diminished state control of its citizens.

This poses three questions:

• How far can crypto evolve? Will crypto services continue to be developed unabated?
• Will crypto be controlled, be a free-rule zone or self-regulated? Regulators typically lag technology advancements, and crypto is the latest example. Their challenge is how to regulate a market with anonymous actors using technology that is decentralized.
• Is a virtual existence a trend for the future? The cyber market has created a platform where actors can live almost entirely in the virtual space. Crypto enables these actors to now be anonymous.

We will attempt to answer these questions throughout the remainder of this paper.

Power Hierarchy

To explain the dynamics between the real-world and cyberspace, evaluating the power hierarchy of both systems puts the current state of play into perspective. From a socioeconomic and cultural perspective, real-world citizens are at the bottom of the pyramid. They are controlled by companies because they hire, pay and fire their employees. Companies are controlled by banks because they provide the finances to run companies. Banks are controlled by governments because they create the legislative, judicial and regulatory oversight that everyone needs to follow.

In crypto the power hierarchy is inverted. At the top, there are core developers who design blockchains. In this system, developers have unanimous control over the programmatic rules they implement. Miners have secondary decision-making powers since they collect the appropriate cryptocurrencies from their efforts in mining. Next, in line are services such as exchanges that facilitate trading. At the bottom are crypto traders. Omitted from this hierarchy is mainstream citizens. This is due to several reasons, starting with the technical learning curve barrier. This creates an artificial exclusionary zone because mainstream applications have yet to accommodate laymen consumers.

The market waits with anticipation for the likes of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google (aka. FAANG[i], on Wall Street) to join the crypto party. In the meantime, crypto faces a ping-pong effect of good and bad news. Earlier in 2018 cryptocurrency took a few steps backward, with Twitter, Facebook, and Google banning advertising, due to market volatility[ii]. Services that connect mainstream users are in development, and their success is one of anticipation and speculation.

“Apps focused solely on the crypto community
risk solidifying virtual currencies to a niche market.”

In developed countries, inclusiveness is driven by human rights, civil liberties, and freedom. In crypto, an unintentional exclusionary zone has been created accommodating techno-savvy individuals who can traverse a steep learning curve. To overcome these barriers, new services, middlemen and educational facilitators will be needed.

This exclusionary zone may not be purposeful, but it exists nonetheless. Traditional banks and governments are also excluded from the crypto power hierarchy. Financial institutions are being disrupted by volatile virtual currencies, while many governments reject crypto because of anonymity.

Crypto may look like a free-rule zone, but it still has governance on a micro-scale. In one sense, actors in crypto are treated as equals: No one knows their social, economic, political, or career status. All participants are members of a collective with respect earned by community dialog and crypto success. Despite an existing crypto social hierarchy, the pyramid is much flatter than in the real world. Actors at the top of the food chain are much more accessible. Judgments are not based on whether the user is sitting in a basement, or on a throne built from swords.

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.