Blockchain

Technology is constantly improving in the world around us, and cryptocurrencies are no different.

The latest cryptocurrency to be announced and met with controversy and a media lash back is Libra, Facebook's new cryptocurrency. But cryptocurrencies could be the way forward...what if we could make money truly global and secure?

Libra caused enormous backlash for a number of reasons, but the main arguments were that it was backed and developed by Facebook, and that it would replace money completley (which cannot happen with the way our economies and countries are built).

Calvin Coolidge said, "Doubters do not achieve, sceptics do not contribute, and cynics do not create". At the outset let me truthfully confess that I am neither of the three on this subject. On the contrary, I truly believe that we are changing the world in the way that business is conducted, and transactions are processed, “one blockchain at a time", and as we use this technology true to its potential, this world will turn into a better place for everyone.

In 1837, Hans Christian Andersen wrote the short story called ‘The emperor’s new clothes’ a tale about two weavers who create a beautiful new suit of clothes that they say are invisible to those who are unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent – while in reality, they make no clothes at all, making everyone believe the clothes are simply invisible to them. When the emperor parades before the people in his new suit of clothes, no one dares to say that they do not see any clothes on him for fear that they will be seen as stupid.

Recently, the financial services industry has witnessed an overdose of journalism surrounding JP Morgan's first (big) entry into the crypto-coin space, most of it is focused around questions related to Jamie Dimon's previous critical views about "Bitcoin" when he had said - "You can’t have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart. It's worse than tulip bulbs".

Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin have become more than just buzzwords, they're now part of modern business. The topics often become confused and conflated, being used interchangeably, which demonstrates our general lack of understanding within this space. 

As form of basic explanation:

Cryptocurrency is digital money created from code, which is free from governmental oversight and is monitored by peer-to-peer internet protocol. 

We conducted a Q&A interview with Prasoon, Vice President at Société Générale Global Solution Centre, around digital transformation, and the future including blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

About Prasoon...

Interested in using blockchain, cryptocurrency and Bitcoin for your business but not sure where to start? This comprehensive guide covers the basics about these emerging technologies and reveals what they could mean for your company.

To be honest, I haven’t totally figured out all of the details of the inner workings of the blockchain technology. And, I do not think I will ever try to as some of it is very technical. I also do not believe that Procurement professionals should do it either. However, it is important to understand the implications of the blockchain technology. Because of the way the blockchain works, it has unique characteristics that represent a breakthrough with tremendous value for Procurement.

Digital is all the buzz today. You need to have a mobile app, be agile, invest in startups, move to Office360 & Yammer, do sprints, have scrum masters, use AI, build IoT, add BlockChain, ... BUT the dirty little secret of the innovators is that you will not be one. You might actually be putting lipstick on a pig!

The jobs market is flooded with embellished CVs, fake references and dirty data. 86% of employers have uncovered lies or misrepresentations on a resume, and the other 14% presumably don’t look hard enough. Candidate verification is expensive and slow for the recruiter, and off-putting for the candidate – hence why we are witnessing an upsurge in movements like Hiring Without Whiteboards, and a disdain for HR and recruiters in general.