[kictanet] Should a Technology be regulated? - The current state of blockchain regulation

[Erick Mwangi]

Blockchain to be or not to be....

My take is we find ourselves in the precarious position in .KE today that
they owners of Capital are the same as the makers of Policy. until this
anomaly is addressed then this will forever be an issue not just in
Blockchain but in the era of new tech.

Secondly, i think there is an issue of understanding of what Blockchain
really is and its use case examples. Unfortunately, there are many
"experts" who i have come across who have very little grasp of what
blockchain really is.

Solution: The future of blockchain lies in the banking industry in Kenya -
the consequences of blockchain for consumers will perhaps be felt most
profoundly in Infrastructure ( Resources and Systems in place to facilitate
and regulate trade, or the flow of cash - including considerations around
user identity and privacy) where developments relating to identity, privacy
and security are taking shape. Our banks need to initiate conversations on
blockchain based solutions, in-turn lobbying the government in
adoption/acceptance of the same, unless we revert to my second point of
"understanding" and this becomes a different conversation.

On the issue of criminality, to me this is a non-issue because do we shut
down the internet because a teenager in Kenya committed suicide playing the
"popular" Blue whale game? Or Shut down Mpesa because it makes it easier
for the youth to gamble from their beds? The answer is no - since
time-imemorial this go hand in hand, virtue and vice in equal measure i
must say..

Currently Barclays and Wave have completed the worlds first blockchain
trade finance transaction. Moving to paperless trade would be hugely
beneficial in supporting the supply chain, through reduced costs, error
free documentation, and faster transfer of original documents to customers.

http://www.newsroom.barclays.co.uk/r/3396/barclays_and_wave_complete_world_first_blockchain_trade

This is an example of what the market will be able to leverage on and adopt
user case examples.

Regards,

E Njoroge Mwangi
Technology| FINTECH | Big Data

Cell +44 7539372742
Skype: Erick.mwangi

On Tue, May 9, 2017 at 11:01 AM, Brian Muhia via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Dear Listers,
> There are three words that describe the mainstream opinion to blockchain:
> Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.
>
> Fear: Even if the status quo is pretty bad, they fear the change to a new
> system. The reverse argument, one that should eliminate this species of
> status-quo bias, is the same. Would we want to move to the current system
> if we had thought of blockchain first?
>
> Uncertainty: They're uncertain of the near-to-long term economy anyway,
> and since this change is so salient, they project that uncertainty on this
> specific technology. Most technological changes that have affected the
> financial system, either positively or negatively have been a bit hidden
> from most citizens and regulators. Here I'm thinking of HFT technologies in
> particular. We have an opportunity to propose a publicly visible technology
> with lots of hype behind it, that promises to overhaul everything that
> needs  a trust element.
>
> Doubt: The introduction of a new class of experts, and subjects requiring
> new forms expertise (cryptoeconomics) from corners of the world that are
> basically unknown, considering the open-source and anonymity-first nature
> of this technology.
>
> I think there are many solutions to this, but all of them have the
> component of patience, because it'll take time for everyone who can make
> decisions to learn what it takes to make good decisions in this space.
>
>
> --
> Software Engineer - Savannah Informatics Ltd.
>
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/
> mailman/options/kictanet/erick.mwangi%40gmail.com
>
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20170509/0b52c09f/attachment.htm>