2017 was an important year for cryptocurrencies, moving them from a concept hardly identifiable to a popular term for retail investors. However, the road has not been easy at all. Enterprises have consistently shown their disapproval for the new form of exchange, for instance, the case of Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, who publicly labeled Bitcoin as a fraud. The businessman, later on, took back his comment, but still both governments and financial leaders remain detractors of the cryptocurrency booming.
Despite this, cryptocurrencies have managed to emerge from the bottom, and this year they have been receiving more attention than ever before. For example, a great alliance has been made recently with the intention of developing blockchain initiatives at an enterprise level, integrated by some of the most renowned companies in the industry such as Intel, BP, Microsoft, and Mastercard.
Furthermore, blockchain technology has been recently promoted by leaders of the US Congress as a possible solution for improving reliability and security in the digital era.
Blockchain vs crypto
It all seems that lately, attention has been drawn to blockchain technologies and their benefits, but in contrast, the industry and governments generally appear to be ignoring cryptocurrencies. So we wonder, what about digital coins?
Well, IBM is showing its full support to cryptocurrencies and, as IBM goes, so similar organizations may follow.
Jesse Lund, the blockchain development chief of IBM, recently declared that the company is investigating the possibility of using cryptocurrencies at an enterprise level.
IBM already uses Stellar crypto for cross-border transactions and they are now looking for other options to deploy cryptocurrencies among their blockchain business.
Lund asserts that a great number of banks, mainly from countries that are part of the G20 forum, are thinking about entering the digital monetary apparatus by creating for themselves a virtual coin.
Still, regarding this, none of the countries in the G20 have declared anything related to what Lund stated, nonetheless, the businessman feels very secure about what the future may have in this matter. He stated:
“I expect that we’ll see – sometime this year – a central bank at least putting its big toe in the water to issue a digital denomination of their fiat currency into the wild… probably in a controlled climate.”
Whether this might happen or not still remains unclear, particularly in a climate of indecision regarding regulation.
IBM – the leader in the blockchain industry
IBM has managed to build itself as one of the leaders in the industry of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Regarding this, business magazine Fortune stated:
“IBM was one of the first big companies to see blockchain’s promise, contributing code to an open-source effort and encouraging startups to try the technology on its cloud for free.”
With the active promise of a possible adoption of cryptocurrencies or blockchain technologies from the government, IBM positions itself as one of the pioneer companies in supporting a booming business.
It is amazing that the company deciding to embrace new financial landscapes is actually one of the oldest in the industry, with a trajectory now of over a hundred years.
