Where are we in Blockchain Technologies Development?
Hello Steemians! So the Steem platform was temporarily unavailable for several hours today. Couldn't browse Steem through @partiko app gave me withdrawal syndromes and more importantly it led me to think about which stage are we in this blockchain revolution 😂. We all read about how blockchain can provide trust and transparency as a service. We expect blockchain technologies to transform the way many industries operate in the future. However, how far are we from realization of those goals?
Personally, I always like to compare blockchain technologies with the internet technologies. However, I will disagree when people say we are at the late 1990s and early 2000s when the dot-com bubble formed and subsequently burst. I think blockchain technologies are still at the relatively early stage of development likened to the 1980s of internet technologies.
Brief History of Internet Technologies
The internet actually started development in the 1960s stemming from the development of NPL Network and ARPANET. Both were not created with mass adoption in mind and were purely meant for research purposes. Along the way some other networks were developed and as time went by, standards and protocols started to be developed.
The 1980s was essentially the era of protocols. During this period, the TCP/IP protocol suite was formalized. SMTP, DNS, BGP and the OSI reference model were released. All these laid the groundwork for the internet we know today. These protocols are being used in the background and most internet users probably never even heard of them. They are just there serving you silently.
Finally in the 1990s, the World Wide Web emerged which led to a web browsers war and eventually mainstream adoption. It was also during this time which we saw the dot-com bubble formed and eventually burst in the early 2000s. The rest, as they say, is history (sorry for the cliche).
Drawing Comparisons
We all know that the very first cryptocurrency is Bitcoin. It was made possible by a few technologies/concepts,
- Decentralization
- Incentivized P2P System
- Cryptography
- Blockchain
The concept of leveraging blockchain technology to build dApps was spearheaded by Bitcoin (technically, Bitcoin is the first dApp built on blockchain to provide P2P transfer of value) but it wasn't the original intention. Ethereum came into the picture to popularize the concept of building dApps on blockchain technologies.
Circling back to Steem being down today. It showed that the dApps being built on blockchain are still far from being stable and highly available. This reinforced my opinion that we are still at an early stage of development in terms of blockchain and dApp technologies. We have yet to see a foundation so strong that we can be sure that services will always be running stably. Much like internet in the 1980s, we are still trying to lay the foundation for something great. This foundation is sure to be worth a lot if it is adopted by the majority. Which is precisely the reason why there are so many dApps platforms/protocols vying to be the standard for all dApps in the future.
Is the "Dot-com" Bubble of Cryptocurrencies Over?
The magnitude of the crash of the cryptocurrencies market from its January 2018 peak seemed to be similar to what happened to NASDAQ during the dot-com bubble illustrated in the image below:
![image.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/culgin/BfSm84zI-image.png)
Source
However, if I were asked to pinpoint at which stage the cryptocurrencies market is at in the picture, I will say that the it is not even in the picture yet. As mentioned, we are in the 1980s of the internet. Imagine if we were to put a dollar value on the internet technologies in the 1980s, what will happen? People will find it difficult to valuate the TCP/IP protocol or DNS because their value are not apparent. Just like people find it to valuate Bitcoin, Ethereum and Steem.
Unlike the internet technologies, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies were designed to carry value from the start. From a certain perspective, this is somewhat unfortunate because being early adopters and investors, we will be subject to extreme volatility due to the uncertainty of the technological development and adoption. At the same time, it is a good thing. Because by having value at the start, it incentivize developments on the technologies. That is why blockchain technologies are developing at such rapid pace.
Hence, to answer my own question, we are not past the "dot-com" bubble of cryptocurrencies yet. In fact, the real bubble has yet to come. I think true "irrational exuberance" will set in when there are means for mass adoption and easy institutional investments. When that day comes, it will be like the 1995 of the dot-com bubble.
Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts on the state of blockchain technologies and do you expect more growth in the cryptocurrencies market.
Projects/Services I am working on:
You can find me in these communities:
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmR6qDmmpEJ9nhMbo6X4d35V3m8n75bo9691Tpv96chn7t/TeamSG%20Discord.png)
Finally, I have time to reply to this sweet article. Good work, as pretty always brother.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmYDSbF3yJSuYpx2zUc8atQ3fSsrQUieKsfQVSDQJPG6A6/image.png)
I could write a whole text about this but I think you already know my opinion regarding this topic anyway haha, so, I've simply to admit that I (pretty much) completely agree with you and even learned something new in regards to the Internet history, thx for that mate.
However, crypto definitely is at it's beginning stages. We achieved a lot but mass adoption still ain't here - and currently there's no hype. Way to go and it's looking good. Simply waiting for btc and the other alts to blow up again - like many other people do too, I reckon.
Btw. concerning your picture displaying the "dot-com market cycle". That ain't nothing special. It's just a typical market cycle and guess what, btc looks pretty much the same bro. That's market psychology etc. It will keep coming (of course there are other factors too you have to consider).
We've seen it at the btc chart too ($).
Current cycle on the right, same cycle on the left (simply smaller now because of the growth of crypto, price of xbt)
![GTW10.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTiSSWyx64KVjEzdFAPAmzteUU4FYJ2g2acjkw591Z26k/GTW10.JPG)
Current cycle (2017/18) - the right one (maybe it's already going for a new cycle - I really hope so)
![GTW3.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmNpbVoyFAiWkqSqvDtXAwAqdvsBZbLrFrKwbJWvqNWYSN/GTW3.JPG)
Older cycle (2013-2015/16) - the left one of the second picture of these four pictures
![GTW7.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZPmXSGaXbUwqmKtQcxosfg4LKEBfaiHY3JSf5tk33Nzi/GTW7.JPG)
All in all, if we do not witness a black swan then btc "soon" should be going for the next cycle.
Thanks for the detailed comments my friend! I do hope for the next bull run to come. However, do you agree that the market is currently manipulated? Since the volume has been quite low for a period of time and many traders are on leveraged trading platforms like Bitmex instead of doing actual fiat to BTC trading
Posted using Partiko Android
You are welcome my dear. Most of us do. Of course it's manipulated. I believe pretty every market is manipulated somehow. In the crypto space we have whales too and they know how to trade. They're pushing down the price (if you can say so) but new money is constantly coming in so it should start getting more bullish in this last quarter of the year. Simply hope the support is strong enough and bitcoin won't reach new lower lows. It must not fall! We want those 10k$. :D
Great article man, keep up the great work. I also love the fact you talked about blockchain instead of the prices of Bitcoin / altcoins. There needs to be more articles like yours!
Thanks for reading! Do give me a follow if you like it :)
Posted using Partiko Android
Thanks for writing this it's some real good insight.
Thanks for reading! Glad that you like it!
Posted using Partiko Android
Nice write up! Glad Partiko was able to inspire you to write this article! Hopefully next time we will inspire you in a good way!
Posted using Partiko Android
Haha.. thanks! Certainly, I will try to post through the Partiko app at that time :)
Posted using Partiko Android
I upvoted your post.
Keep steeming for a better tomorrow.
@Acknowledgement - God Bless
Posted using https://Steeming.com condenser site.
Hi @culgin!
Your post was upvoted by @steem-ua, new Steem dApp, using UserAuthority for algorithmic post curation!
Your UA account score is currently 2.903 which ranks you at #11036 across all Steem accounts.
Your rank has dropped 11 places in the last three days (old rank 11025).
In our last Algorithmic Curation Round, consisting of 441 contributions, your post is ranked at #307.
Evaluation of your UA score:
Feel free to join our @steem-ua Discord server
Congratulations,
you just received a 15.31% upvote from @steemhq - Community Bot!
Wanna join and receive free upvotes yourself?
![](https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://www.steemhq.com/steemhq_voting.gif)
Vote for
steemhq.witness
on Steemit or directly on SteemConnect and join the Community Witness.This service was brought to you by SteemHQ.com