Growing Web3 and Blockchain as Foundational Technologies
Michael Bacina, Partner at Piper Alderman
Blockchain and crypto-assets have all been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. The decline of image or profile picture NFTs, the spectacular failures of Celsius and FTX last year, and an increasingly hostile regulatory response to blockchain and crypto-assets in the United States have led many to ask whether the industry has flown too close to the sun, or is just starting to lift off.
APAC contributors have already provided a primer on Web3 and Blockchain, but with the space evolving so quickly and smart contracts starting to be deployed into businesses; CIOs need to be across what is out there and how their competitors are utilizing blockchain and Web3. Below we set out a few examples of using blockchain and Web3 worth of mention and bearing in mind when considering your strategy.
As Registry Interfaces
Sydney-founded business, Boulevard Global (currently rebranding to be called Liquidise), is a blockchain business that provides company shareholding registry management, but with the added benefit of interfacing their registry through to the underlying government registry. In effect, they deploy Web3 tech while bridging to make a better old-world experience.
As Rewards
The Australian Open for the second year offered up Art Balls for sale, with each Art Ball having a corresponding square on the court of the Australian Open. The holder of the ball corresponding to the square where the match-winning point lands receive tickets to next year's equivalent game, and all Art Ball holders were given free entry to the Australian Open Prescient for finals week. This real-world value delivery as a form of customer reward resonates from a marketing perspective and the “out of the box” code. Deploying these kinds of NFTs make them accessible to many businesses.
“Web3 will be as impactful as the internet when it comes to automation. Especially as the huge amounts of open source smart contract codes are available for anyone.”
For Royalty Payments
In early February a US start-up offered a limited number of NFTs, each of which will receive, via blockchain distribution, part of the royalties from the use of a song by Rihanna. This is the thin end of the wedge when it comes to automating payments that previously were manual and bringing new products to market, which previously were only open to a selected few.
Bank Issued Stable Coins
Australia and New Zealand Bank, and the National Australia Bank have announced that they will be issuing 1:1 AUD-backed stable coins, which should be natively compatible with a raft of smart contract technology, helping accelerate Web3 use and adoption.
These examples show how Web3 is a foundational technology with a future that has not been imagined yet, even while suffering from wobbles. It will be as impactful as the internet when it comes to automation. Especially as the huge amounts of open source smart contract codes are available for anyone that may reduce the cost of blockchain-based software development significantly over traditional development.
Builders do need to be mindful that the law does not keep up with technology. It’s a feature, not a bug. The particular use for which blockchain is being put can come with legal consequences that are not always clear at the start of a project.
