‘We’re still not taking blockchain seriously – the opportunities in 2025 are endless’

Originally published on Management Today on December 19, 2024

It’s been more than a decade since Bitcoin first sparked a blockchain revolution. Globally, the blockchain market has steadily grown over the years – the market value increased from $4.19 billion in 2020 to $26.91 billion in 2024. Yet, blockchain’s potential to drive business growth in 2025 remains largely untapped, with just 3.9% of people worldwide using it.

The problem with the status quo: inefficiency, lack of transparency and risk

Modern businesses are complex, with vast supply chains, countless transactions and mountains of customer data. They must manage, process and validate this with the utmost accuracy and security. But traditional systems, riddled with inefficiencies, often fail to meet the demands of today’s fast-paced digital economy.

According to a new study from TMX Global, supply chain woes are now costing the UK economy over £12 billion a year in lost revenue due to inefficiencies. Many of these issues stem from the inability to verify data quickly and accurately across multiple touchpoints. By offering real-time, distributed data that cannot be altered or tampered with, blockchain can help businesses to trace every part of a supply chain with unprecedented accuracy. No more paper trails, no more waiting on third parties – just one source.

Supply chains are one example. When you factor in the growing complexity of compliance regulations, such as GDPR in Europe, maintaining data security and privacy becomes a major challenge for companies. Blockchain can address this by ensuring all transactions are cryptographically secure and auditable, making it easier to meet compliance requirements while boosting customer trust.

Beyond efficiency: unlocking new opportunities

Blockchain isn’t just about solving old problems. It’s about creating new opportunities. Take micropayments (a small payment, usually under £1, made online). Traditionally, businesses have shied away from smaller transactions due to high processing fees. But technology such as BSV Blockchain, a unique blockchain that has enterprise-grade applications and services, can help instant and cost-effective micropayments at scale, without the high fees. 

This unlocks a new world for businesses to monetise their offerings. For cash-strapped enterprises, BSV Blockchain can provide an affordable way to tap into new revenue streams.

Blockchain has the potential to revolutionise how businesses manage cross-border transactions. Despite the UK processing over £87 trillion in cross-border payments a year after adopting ISO 20022 – a global standard for structured financial messaging – businesses still endure lengthy delays and high costs when transferring funds internationally, as highlighted by Bank Underground. 

Blockchain can address these inefficiencies by removing intermediaries like banks, enabling businesses to reach global markets directly, in real-time, and at significantly lower costs. This is especially transformative for cost-conscious SMEs seeking to reach new customers beyond their home market.

Another area where blockchain is showing tremendous promise is in data-sharing ecosystems. In healthcare, for example, blockchain creates secure, transparent networks that allow organisations to share patient data across various institutions, with both strong privacy and accessibility. Siloed data creates inefficiencies and increases the risk of errors; blockchain can offer a much-needed solution.

Sustainability: blockchain’s role in a greener future

By enabling greater supply chain transparency, blockchain allows companies to track the environmental impact of their products in real-time. A fashion retailer can trace every step of their garments’ journey, from raw material sourcing to production and shipping, ensuring their sustainability claims are verifiable.

Blockchain’s role in carbon credit markets is another promising area. A carbon credit market is a system designed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, providing economic incentives for companies, organisations and even governments to lower their carbon footprint. The UK government has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050: blockchain can help create transparent and secure carbon credit trading platforms. These systems validate credits, reducing the risk of fraud and making it easier for businesses to offset their carbon footprint.

Also, by reducing inefficiencies and eliminating intermediaries, blockchain helps businesses reduce their overall carbon footprint. Just think of the energy saved when eliminating the need for paper records, redundant data storage and inefficient payment systems! It’s not just about doing business better – it’s about doing business more sustainably.

The competitive edge

In 2025, our view is that the companies that have started integrating blockchain into their operations have a significant advantage. They offer more transparent services, streamlined operations and tap into new markets with innovative offerings. We believe these are the companies that will not only survive the next few years – they’ll thrive.

Those that hesitate risk being left behind. The blockchain revolution isn’t coming – it’s already here. For business leaders, the opportunity is clear: invest in blockchain today to secure your place in tomorrow’s economy. 

For more information about BSV Blockchain and how it can help address your business or government needs contact us here.

What role will blockchain play in securing the future of AI-driven infrastructure?

Originally published on Tech Radar Pro on November 20, 2024

Blockchain technology marks a pivotal moment in digital innovation.

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology marks a pivotal moment in digital innovation, offering unprecedented opportunities to transform industries. When combined, they can not only enhance operational efficiencies but also address some of the most pressing challenges facing modern enterprises dealing with data at scale: data reliability and integrity.

AI relies heavily on data to learn and make decisions. However, the quality of that data is paramount. In an era where misinformation and data integrity issues abound, blockchain technology offers a robust solution. By providing a decentralized ledger that ensures data is tamper-proof and immutable, blockchain can help enhance the reliability of the data fed into AI systems.

Reducing AI hallucinations

One of the most significant challenges AI systems face is the phenomenon known as “hallucinations”—instances where AI generates responses that are inaccurate or entirely fabricated. These issues often stem from poor data quality or lack of verifiable sources, such as when AI models have gorged themselves on too much fast food data sources like forums, social media and blogs, where humor, gossip and misinformation abounds, or when they train on synthetic data produced by AI itself.

It’s like at the end of the first Matrix movie, when Neo dives into Agent Smith, who absorbs him, but then explodes. AI has to be careful what it consumes. Without quality data, Large Language Models risk “model collapse”. Here, blockchain proves invaluable.

Blockchain’s inherent properties of data integrity and immutability play a crucial role in mitigating risks associated with AI systems. By utilizing a decentralized ledger, these systems can access verified data, significantly reducing the likelihood of inaccuracies. Furthermore, unboundedly scalable blockchain technology can efficiently handle large volumes of transactions, making it well-suited to support AI tools that require real-time data. This ensures that the information used by AI is both accurate and trustworthy, ultimately enhancing the reliability of AI-driven insights and decisions.

Recognizing and rewarding creators

As AI technology continues to advance, the need to recognize and reward content creators becomes increasingly critical. Blockchain can play a role in this respect by facilitating micro-payments that reward creators directly for their contributions.

With smart contracts on a blockchain, payments can be automated and executed instantly when predefined conditions are met, ensuring creators receive fair compensation for their work. This transparency fosters a more equitable digital ecosystem, allowing artists, writers, and developers to benefit from their creations without the interference of intermediaries. This points to the potential for a brave new “creator economy 2.0” era. Similar to how the music industry was initially disrupted by piracy and file-sharing, before evolving for a new age with streaming services and monetizing live performances. So too can the creator economy evolve in this new era of AI models, by baking in financial rewards when creative content is featured in AI training data, similar to some of the early deals now starting to be struck between major media houses and AI foundational model owners.

Moreover, blockchain can help safeguard creators’ rights by recording ownership and usage rights for their content. This is particularly important in the context of AI, where data from various sources is often aggregated to train models. For creators who wish to maintain control over their work, blockchain provides a way to prevent unauthorized data trawling and ensure that their content is used in compliance with their terms.

Smart contracts & automation

The integration of AI and blockchain also enables the development of smart contracts—self-executing contracts with the terms directly written into code. AI can trigger these smart contracts, automating processes that traditionally require human intervention. This automation not only streamlines operations but also enhances transparency, as all transactions are recorded on the blockchain and accessible to relevant parties.

For example, in supply chain management, AI can analyze data to predict demand and trigger smart contracts that automatically adjust orders with suppliers. This leads to more responsive and efficient supply chains, reducing waste and ensuring that resources are allocated where they are needed most.

Moreover, smart contracts can facilitate compliance by automatically enforcing regulations and protocols. In industries like finance and healthcare, where adherence to strict guidelines is essential, this capability can significantly reduce the risk of non-compliance.

IPv6, blockchain, and Metanet

The future of the internet lies in the convergence of several technologies, including AI, blockchain, and IPv6. The introduction of IPv6, with its vastly increased IP address space, opens up opportunities for connecting an unprecedented number of devices. When combined with unboundedly scalable blockchain tech, this can lead to the creation of Metanet—a new internet framework that ensures data security and integrity.

In Metanet, devices can communicate securely and efficiently, leveraging the advantages of blockchain to verify identities and transactions. AI and machine learning can further enhance this ecosystem by providing intelligent insights into data patterns and behaviors, facilitating smarter and more secure interactions.

This integration promises to reshape industries by enabling real-time data sharing and collaboration among devices and users, ultimately fostering innovation and driving economic growth. With blockchain ensuring security and transparency, and AI providing actionable insights, the potential for creating new business models is limitless.

A truly scalable blockchain that can process over a million transactions per second will enable cost-effective and intermediary-free microtransactions, enabling new forms of digital commerce and restoring the internet’s original promise of a truly peer-to-peer platform.

The convergence of AI and blockchain represents a transformative shift in the digital landscape, driving future digital transformation. By addressing data reliability issues, recognizing, and rewarding creators, automating operations through smart contracts, and reshaping the internet, these technologies hold the key to a more secure, efficient, and equitable digital future.

As we continue to explore these possibilities, it’s clear that the synergy between AI and blockchain will not only enhance operational efficiencies but also help in building trust in the data-driven world we inhabit.

Enterprise blockchains are the only way to make AI real

Originally published on Fintech Magazine on November 05, 2024

Enterprise blockchains are revolutionising data management, ensuring scalability and security while enabling real-world applications beyond speculation.

People sometimes ask me what I mean by ‘enterprise blockchain,’ and how it differs from other blockchains. The difference lies in what a blockchain is used for and what it can be used for. Not all blockchains are created equal. 

For over a decade, blockchain have been seen as platforms for digital assets and speculative financial vehicles. 

Some blockchains— like those offering decentralised finance (DeFi) applications—focus on staking or loaning assets for yield, creating a daisy chain of interdependencies that historically doesn’t end well.

Enterprise blockchains are different. They offer unlimited scalability, allowing them to handle data-intensive tasks that overwhelm bandwidth-constricted networks. Enterprise blockchain technology balances efficiency and transparency, allowing businesses to scale without sacrificing security or auditability.

Enterprise blockchains provide the technical infrastructure to manage intellectual property agreements, AI training and development, micropayments and more in a seamless, auditable way.

These aren’t theoretical concepts – real-world use cases already exist, proving enterprise blockchains go beyond speculative uses.

Paying the piper

Consider copyright management, a growing issue as AI large language models (LLMs) scrape the web indiscriminately, without respect for the rights of data owners. Non-fungible token (NFT) technology on enterprise blockchains can help ensure right holders are compensated for their material.

Many dismissed NFTs long ago, having been led to believe that the technology began and ended with the speculative flipping of crudely rendered monkey JPEGs. But NFTs can be utilised in self-executing smart contracts that govern usage, resale and licensing of data.

The NFT is structured using Bitcoin Script, a Turing-incomplete language that can determine whether the pre-agreed conditions of a contract have been met. For an LLM accessing content, the contract can dictate terms, including how long access is granted, how the data can be used and what payments are required to compensate the data’s owner.

Enterprise blockchains create auditable trails that timestamp interactions with copyrighted material. Whenever AI systems consume on-chain content, the activity is logged and auditable by regulators, content creators and AI developers. 

Overlay networks & Payment channels

Enterprise blockchains enable dynamic and flexible interactions via overlay networks and payment channels. Overlays are secondary systems built on top of the main network, handling off-chain negotiations and updates until it’s time for final settlement.

Overlays allow custom, real-time agreements between businesses and AI systems. Content providers might offer tiered pricing levels based on whether an AI system requires simple reading of data, deeper integration into training models or the ability to resell or modify content.

Payment channels aggregate multiple interactions into a single, secure on-chain settlement, ensuring the efficient use of enterprise blockchain resources while retaining full auditability. 

For example, an AI developer and content provider can open a payment channel on the main network, locking up a portion of a blockchain’s native token. The parties negotiate terms off-chain, updating the balance within the channel based on the volume of content accessed/used. When the business is concluded, the payment channel is closed and a final settlement transaction is written to the main network, leaving an auditable and immutable record of their agreement.

Simply the best

I believe the BSV Blockchain is the only blockchain capable of securely and efficiently handling the above scenarios. BSV offers unbounded scalability—proven to handle over one million transactions per second—with transaction fees measured in fractions of a cent.

BSV is also the only chain capable of scaling to meet the IPv6 standard, a prerequisite for handling the immense data requirements of Metanet, which will combine with AI and machine learning to enable cost-effective, instant micropayments. Metanet represents a better, more inclusive and dynamic internet, an economically integrated system that restores the original vision of a peer-to-peer internet model.

I believe so strongly in BSV’s unique qualities that I challenge anyone building similar projects on other blockchains to present their work at the London Blockchain Conference (LBC) in 2025. To paraphrase some of my English football-loving friends, come and have a go if you think your blockchain’s hard enough.

All kidding aside, this is a sincere offer. After a long entrepreneurial career, I didn’t get to where I am without being willing to defend my views on the field of free market competition. The next edition of LBC is scheduled for October 2025, giving you plenty of time to prepare a presentation that will knock everyone’s socks off.

Assuming your foundation is a true enterprise blockchain, able to handle millions of cost-effective transactions per second. But if that foundation proves too shaky, you can always port your project over to BSV and label that initial effort a prototype.

Castles made of sand might look pretty but they don’t last long. Choose the enterprise blockchain that’s built to outperform and built to last.

Unlocking the future: AI and blockchain’s transformative potential

Originally published on The AI Journal on September 10, 2024

Artificial intelligence (AI) will undoubtedly have a major impact on society, particularly when paired with blockchain technology, with ramifications for everything from the labor market to human cognition.

News of AI making further inroads into our daily lives is inescapable nowadays, particularly regarding its potential to radically reshape society. Some utopians envision a complete eradication of the need to work, so we all just lounge about drinking milkshakes and video chatting with friends, like those human blobs in Wall-E. 

On the other hand, AI doomers imagine a Terminator-like dystopian hellscape in which humans have been rendered redundant/superfluous and are now hunted for sport by our robot overlords. This latter version appears to be the more prevalent of the two scenarios, although I think these fears are overblown.

The idea of superintelligent AI, in which AI surpasses human cognitive abilities across all domains, remains a theoretical concept very much. For one thing, the technology just isn’t there yet. For another, there are fundamental distinctions between how human brains and AI function.

I believe AI will be a tool that enhances human intelligence, but it won’t replace human intelligence. Consider the impact that the introduction of writing had on human development. Before writing, knowledge had to be stored mentally and transmitted orally, with the inevitable result that knowledge was increasingly altered the further one got from the source (think of the kids’ game ‘telephone’).

Writing allowed thoughts/memories/insights to spread farther than an individual’s ability to physically travel, while also ensuring that this knowledge was relayed more accurately. The result was the ability to transfer intelligence from village to village, town to town, across cities, countries, continents and oceans. Humanity sharing knowledge in this fashion led to several radical concepts, including AI.

Just as writing helped us externalize memory and foster cumulative knowledge building, AI promises to revolutionize how humans process information and solve problems. Current AI systems, like those based on GPT-4, are already helping to enhance human productivity and decision-making.

AI is good at automating routine tasks but also processing reams of data much faster and more comprehensively than humans, while also identifying patterns that human eyes might miss. This extension of human capabilities offers all sorts of benefits in areas like diagnostic medicine, climate modelling, financial forecasting, etc.

But for all its marvels, AI can’t escape the  ‘garbage in = garbage out’ rule, and this is where blockchain technology comes in. AI systems are useless without data, but they’re worse than useless if they rely on inaccurate data. Blockchain technology can offer essential infrastructure for securing and verifying the data on which AI relies. 

AI large language models (LLMs) occasionally regurgitate ‘hallucinations’ in response to customer prompts. The root causes of these factual gaffes are still a matter of some debate, but AI’s rapacious gorging on any public data sources ensures that a good deal of erroneous information gets baked into these LLMs’ secret sauce.

LLMs trained on immutable blockchain-stored data from verified sources could help reduce the frequency and severity of hallucinations. Blockchain storage is still not at the point where it could fully support a general knowledge AI chatbot. But for select areas of focus, there are likely cases in which the desire for AI accuracy would trump the need to be all things to all people.

And some blockchains are further down this road than others. The BSV Blockchain is the only network with the proven ability to scale to meet AI’s data needs, while also offering robust security that ensures trust and data integrity.

BSV-based smart contracts can automatically manage intellectual property (IP) ownership and revenues, like electronic data interchange (EDI) systems, automating transactions and ensuring secure, transparent exchanges of data.

Smart contracts can also automatically execute, verify, and enforce the terms of IP agreements. This eliminates the need for intermediaries and streamlines the management of IP rights and revenue distribution while reducing the likelihood of costly disputes.

Effective IP management via smart contracts can require additional infrastructure to function seamlessly, like databases of products and associated metadata. This is where nChain, a key player in the blockchain space, comes into play.

nChain holds significant IP related to these capabilities, ensuring that BSV can be effectively utilized for managing IP ownership and automating revenue flows. nChain’s innovations support the use of BSV for advanced applications, adding another layer of efficiency and trust to the integration of AI and blockchain.

Moreover, the value of IP will increase significantly as automated systems and manufacturing become more prevalent, driving innovation and efficiency. IP will become a key asset in maintaining competitive advantages, while automated IP management systems will be crucial to ensuring creators and innovators receive the rewards they’re rightly owed.

The transformative potential of AI and blockchain technologies ensures that they will each play a pivotal role in shaping the future. Synergies abound from the integration of AI as a powerful cognitive tool with blockchain as a secure infrastructure for data and IP management.

Even more synergies will be realized when AI and BSV combine with the IPv6 standard to bring about Metanet, an economically integrated online system that enables cost-effective, instant micropayments. Metanet represents a better, more inclusive, and dynamic internet, through which webpages, services and every single piece of online data can be easily accessed and monetized in a direct-to-consumer model.

While there might not be mountains of skulls like in the Terminator movies, there will be economic casualties from AI’s rise, just as there have been following the introduction of any revolutionary technology. And while it’s not always pretty, economies have a way of resetting themselves following significant technological upheaval.

Consider that as much as 90% of pre-industrial revolution labour was involved in agriculture. That number now stands around one-quarter, with most of the other 65% or so shifting to new occupations that didn’t exist before this shift.

So yes, AI will have an impact on society. But by focusing on the practical applications of AI and blockchain technologies, we can harness their potential to drive innovation, efficiency, and growth across various sectors, ultimately benefiting society as a whole.