Blockchain Catch-upThis is Charles Brett’s start-of-the-week Enterprise Times ‘blockchain catch-up’ 2022-Week 17. Necessarily it is idiosyncratic and selective.

It is not intended to be comprehensive but does seek to highlight ‘Quick Takes’ on specific developments as well interesting pieces to read, a listing of some (not all) announcements/press releases and pointers to upcoming events.

Quick Takes – Charles Brett’s Blockchain Catch-up 2022-Week 17

Chartbook #116: The end of crypto’s “Wild West”? The battle to shape the future of digital assets in US-UK-EU

“It seems that we have reached a turning point in the development of the industry. For many this is the end of the “Wild West” phase of crypto’s development. This may mean some restriction of commercial and technical freedom. Will that mean the beginning of the end? The withering away of a speculative bubble? Or will it have the effect of establishing crypto as a recognized part of the financial ecosystem?

“What is forcing the debate is the scale of crypto’s growth.

“As recently as 2019 the global Financial Stability Board took a look at the crypto industry and judged that it posed no serious risk. Weeks later Facebook launched its bid to establish a global currency – libra. That got regulators’ attention. It turned out it was important and the regulators did not like what they saw. Faced with a wall of official hostility, at the start of 2022 Facebook finally abandoned the project.

“Libra failed, but today, whether for better or for worse there is a growing sense that the crypto industry as a whole – tokens like bitcoin and tether and the exchanges that service them – is too big and dynamic to ignore. Accounting for the size of the business is tricky. But according to the White House the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies was in the order of $3tn in November 2021, up from $14bn five years ago. 16 per cent of American adults have bought, used or traded cryptocurrencies.

“This gives the industry significant commercial and political weight, enabling its lobbyists to claim that the crypto industry will be an important source of competitiveness and growth.”

Quick Take: this comes from Adam Tooze’s Chartbook series of blogs. It is a pertinent summary (though you may have to sign up to receive the Chartbook series to read his insights) of a complex subject that co-mingles many factors.

7 pieces to read – Charles Brett’s Blockchain Catch-up 2022-Week 17

Selected announcements/press releases/opinions – Charles Brett’s Blockchain Catch-up 2022-Week 17

  • Tearing up the rulebook: blockchain and crypto adoption risks (opinion)
  • Politicians are waking up to the fact there are votes in crypto (opinion, behind FT paywall)
  • PayPal’s blockchain chief on the future of crypto in payments (opinion)
  • Umbria Network releases Arbitrum cross-chain bridge (announcement)
  • Introducing Polygon Supernets, powered by Polygon Edge + $100M Ecosystem Fund (announcement)
  • Evvio and Vite Labs accelerate shift to multi-blockchain commerce (announcement)
  • The blockchain market was valued at US$4,771.34M in 2021 and is expected to reach a value of US$75,778.9M by 2027 (report).

Selected upcoming events

  • FT LIVE” Crypto and Digital Assets Summit (26th April 2022)
  • Security Token Summit (15-16th May 2022)
  • Digital Assets AND Securities Conference (19th-21st May 2022)
  • EEMA 35th Annual Conference to focus on securing identity and its business (8th-9th June 2022)
  • Festival for the decentralised world (9th-12th June 2022).
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Charles Brett
Charles Brett is a business/technology analyst consultant. His specialist areas include enterprise software, blockchain and enterprise mobility tech (including metering). Specific industry sectors of interest and experience include finance (especially systems supporting wholesale finance), telecommunications and energy. Charles has spoken at multiple industry conferences, has written for numerous publications (including the London Times and the Financial Times). He was the General Chair of the bi-annual High Performance Systems Workshop, 2005. In addition he is an author and novelist. His Technology books include: Making the Most of Mobility Vol I (eBook, 2012); Explaining iTunes, iPhones and iPads for Windows Users (eBook, 2011); 5 Axes of Business Application Integration (2004). His published novels, in the Corruption Series, include: The HolyPhone Confessional Crisis, Corruption’s Price: A Spanish Deceit and Virginity Despoiled. The fourth in The Corruption Series - Resurrection - has is now available. Charles has a B.A. and M.A in Modern History from the University of Oxford. He has lived or worked in Italy, Abu Dhabi, South Africa, California and New York, Spain, Israel, Estonia and Cyprus.

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