The blockchain hype is being described as “dead,” according to one source. After months of price drops amongst the biggest cryptocurrencies out there, the crypto world is finally coming to a halt, but is it safe to say that all the hoopla has closed out permanently?
One of the most recent topics covered by Live Bitcoin News was ConsenSys. Started in 2014 by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, the crypto executive explained that the company was not performing well as of late due to the ongoing crypto winter, though he mentioned in the same interview that he wasn’t particularly worried about the situation.
A Blockchain Company Is Suffering Deeply
What wasn’t mentioned is that recently, ConsenSys laid off approximately 13 percent of its work staff, and Lubin is funding the company’s operations largely from his own private crypto stash. It is rumored that Lubin owns the largest amount of ether tokens amongst industry leaders. Previously, ConsenSys housed roughly 1,200 employees, meaning about 150 of them are now jobless.
One of the major problems – per the recent source – states that ConsenSys was spending over $100 million a year funding new blockchain and crypto-related startups and venture funds. Thanks partly to the crash that has caused entities like bitcoin, Ethereum and EOS to lose over 80 percent of their values, many of these startups have become null and void in the ever-growing financial ladder.
Several of these ventures also raised funds through initial coin offerings (ICOs), garnering ether tokens in exchange for access to their goods and services. With the sudden decline of ether, these companies no longer have the backbones necessary to compete. This also means that if ConsenSys helped fund these companies, representatives are likely losing out.
One of the other big problems, however, does not relate to the drops in crypto prices, but rather the fact that blockchain technology still lacks what the source calls a “killer app.” Presently, blockchain offers many advantages, though very few have been appropriately applied to real-world problems that have little or nothing to do with finance.
The Blockchain Must Work Outside Finance
Such an app in this space could potentially bring newfound attention and mainstream legitimacy to blockchain technology. In addition, it could also assist businesses within the space to garner the revenue and capital they’ll need to stay competitive with high-end players. Presently, however, the only applications that seem to exist are for digital exchanges.
The source compares the blockchain to the internet and says that the latter only became effective when entrepreneurs and business professionals realized how to use it to solve real customers’ needs. Blockchain will need to experience a similar transition at the hands of entrepreneurs – not data scientists – if it’s to ever be successful and profitable in a more mainstream sense.
Will the blockchain ever become the staple technology of the globe? Post your comments below.
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