Blockchain Faces Big Challenges But the Opportunity Is Enormous

A recent Gartner Group report called it "Blockchain fatigue." Other pundits echoed the view that pilots have fizzled out, few implementations have gone into production, and blockchain is likely to be a marginal technology.

The words blockchain or crypto still conjure up images of bad actors, criminals, and get-rich-quick hucksters using a new technology to commit age-old frauds-and there has been plenty of that.

Blockchain is running head-on into the system of laws, regulations, and structures that govern society.

It's no wonder blockchain and crypto are taking a long time.

Blockchain presents new challenges to regulators looking to protect consumers and markets, but the rigidity with which they have approached blockchain has often stifled innovation and growth.

As we've seen with Switzerland and Singapore, the first major jurisdictions to establish favorable conditions for blockchain ventures will reap the rewards in jobs and economic growth.

To thrive in the long term, blockchain faces implementation challenges beyond regulation and the active inertia of incumbents.

Like the early days of the Internet when private intranets dominated the scene, blockchain is balkanized in silos.

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