Not Sold On Blockchains for Business? Just You Wait

Three years since enterprises started exploring the possibilities in blockchain, it's perfectly understandable to be disappointed with what we've got so far.

As important as the milestones achieved so far have been, there's a much longer way to go and in this series of articles, I will examine the key transformations that need to take place for blockchains to go from interesting prototypes to production systems solving niche problems to general-purpose tools for moving value of all kinds around.

Going public.... Right now, nearly all enterprise blockchain examples are confined to private networks and, typically, non-financial systems.

The first is a shift from private, permissioned blockchains to their chaotic, public and permissionless counterparts.

Public, permissionless blockchains, though they are based on key principles of cryptography, actually run most data in the "Clear" - which is to say unencrypted.

If you form a private network for food traceability and you want to ship the food and insure that shipment, you'll end up needing half a dozen different blockchain connections to complete the whole transaction.

Some companies are working hard on connecting up lots of different private blockchains.

It will allow all companies to work on public blockchains and to enter into contracts with each other securely and privately.

The same scenario we discussed before can not only be done with a single contract with multiple parties, it can all take place on the same blockchain and be executed securely, privately and reliably.

Getting on to a shared, public infrastructure is critical for blockchains to scale globally and to move from very specific industry solutions into general purpose tools for moving value and enabling business agreements.