The future of blockchain with 10Clouds

Maciej Cielecki, CEO and co-founder at 10Clouds and Dennis van der Vecht, Blockchain Account Executive at 10Clouds discuss blockchain history, use cases and what lies ahead

For companies looking to incorporate blockchain solutions beyond crypto, what need to be the initial considerations?

Dennis van der Vecht: As CoinDesk’s director of research beautifully stated “Blockchain technology, for all its merits, is not a new technology. Rather, it is a combination of proven technologies applied in a new way. It was the particular orchestration of three technologies (the internet, private key cryptography and a protocol governing incentivisation) that made the idea so useful”.

It is important for companies to identify areas of friction within their internal or external environment that can benefit from either of these solutions. Solving an actual problem is what matters. The way to do it efficiently could be blockchain or other solution.

Therefore having the right advisory is essential to identify the next steps. A lot of potential and current clients we talk with need technical know-how to break their ideas or even internal processes in small pieces and scope out potential needs. Discovery workshops are a perfect way to work together with the stakeholders. They allow us to find our their actual needs and develop an initial roadmap into solving a pain point.

10Clouds has handled over 20 blockchain projects so far. Could you give us an example of a project, in which blockchain implementation drastically changed how your clients’ company operates?

Dennis van der Vecht: 10Clouds has worked on many projects that aspire to change the world. The projects vary – some clients want to disrupt a specific industry, while others work towards solving a more global-scale struggle that hits ethical levels.

Regarding industry-level, we have handled many of them. From building secure exchanges that should replace traditional exchange platforms to a KYC/AML process that ensures no fraudulent activities could happen on your platform.

We worked on one product that tries to replace Google Adwords with a peer-to-peer platform for buyers & sellers. It chases the market leader by offering additional value that is impossible to implement without blockchain. Each project is using certain aspects of blockchain to leap forward within very traditional industries or monopolised environments.

Regarding larger scale problems: A great project we are currently working on answers the question “How do I verify that my gold is from a responsibly sourced environment?”. It doesn’t change the client’s company, but may solve a problem that has been hidden for centuries. Another one of our blockchain projects already helps victims of human trafficking!

Do you think that the future of blockchain lies in blockchain-focused companies, or that it will spread over and change multiple industries? 

Maciej Cielecki: In the short term, the technology will be driven forward mainly by companies that deliver blockchain products. There are still many teething troubles to be solved – starting from blockchain’s scalability and efficiency, through legislation issues, all the way to crypto exchange rates, that are extremely unstable and quite unpredictable. I bet on blockchain-focused companies – these problems are crucial concerns for them, so they will do a lot to get past them.

Right now, you’ll find the most opportunities in building basic blockchain solutions, but it will change. For some companies, it’s worth to already future-proof their businesses with the help of Blockchain.

Especially that in a few years, I believe that giants from many other industries will step in to mix blockchain with the so-called “real world.” All of the things that are blocking the mass adoption now will be gone by then.

So what core features can blockchain offer to corporate players in our digital world?

Dennis van der Vecht: It depends on the industry and the specific enterprise. If we think about data security that blockchain can offer by decentralization: Google is exploring the use of blockchain to enhance its cloud services for additional protection of their data.

Related to supply chain management/transparency: using certain aspects of blockchain technology we can trace back assets. Maersk is developing a system that tracks the movement of shipments within ports. Something similar is done for Albert Heijn, a Dutch Supermarket Chain to monitor where their orange juices are produced, what kind of oranges are pressed and if it complies with certain fair trade restrictions.

In law enforcement, blockchain technology is used to protect personal data standards. Certain law enforcement units in South America use private blockchain solutions to have a found/saved child matched with a missing picture in the specific area using biometric hashes. This saves weeks by skipping the needed warrantees without sharing any personal identity.

When it comes to immutability, many banks turned to blockchain related solutions to comply with a new ruling that we need to oblige to in EU.  Banks need to show to their clients that official documents are not tampered with. Blockchain can be used as a solution to show that within the timeline of publishment no changes have been made in a secure and trusted environment.

We can use aspects of Blockchain to support solving specific pain points within industries. Mostly it is part of a broader solution in which Blockchain could provide transparency, cost-efficiency, immutability, and security.

How do you see the success of blockchain developing over the next five years?

Maciej Cielecki: I’m not sure if it will take three, five or seven years, but I believe that many wonderful things are coming. We will be able to tokenize many goods, and cryptocurrencies will throw down the gauntlet on more traditional payments methods, such as credit cards.

On the other hand, we shouldn’t kid ourselves that the whole world will become blockchain-based someday. Blockchain often turns out to be the best possible solution to solve a specific problem, but this is not always the case. It resembles the dot-com boom from decades ago. Many companies try to different things, and everyone smells the potential that lays in blockchain, but not every idea is good. It may be a harsh thing to say, but some of those companies need to fail for the market to mature.

We work with many clients on projects that we believe in. 10Clouds wants to be there when blockchain will really kick off and take part in making the revolution possible.