Translator: Tamara Perry Reviewer: Martin Bermudez
Every 10 years, there is a revolution.
It seems contradictory being able to predict
what the next radical paradigm shift will be.
But during this latest era in technology
this revolution has been proven to be true.
In the seventies, computer circuits appeared,
which resulted in motherboards.
In the 80s, PCs, personal computers.
In the 90s, came the Internet.
In the 2000s, came social networks as well as smartphones.
And this cyclic resource, as we can see, repeats itself.
If my calculations are right,
looks it is time for another great revolution.
Therefore, it is time to ask ourselves the question:
What is the next major revolution?
The answer is: "blockchain."
Since the age of 14, I have undertaken projects on the Internet,
using technology as a means of expression and revolution.
For as long as I can remember, I've lived, breathed, and loved technology.
I have seen the world change,
generations complain about the rate,
lack of values, and speed with which the world grows.
I have seen the fall and destruction of big corporations,
institutions, and the biggest skyscrapers.
Even everything we assumed and took for granted.
I have seen it fall.
So, I want you to think and reconsider that this start of the millennium
involves a real change and a reality that's constantly evolving.
There comes a time when we take for granted
that institutions are above us and guarantee our rights,
but many times we see this is not true.
The topic I want to address is related to this.
Blockchain.
It is a protocol operating underneath Bitcoin,
the virtual currency all of you know.
But it has a major problem known as double cost,
"double-spending."
Blockchain emerged when it was created around 2006,
in response to this.
The issue is that something that can be copied countless times,
as is the case of virtual currency, is spent only once,
without there being any entity or institution to control it.
Therefore, we ask ourselves:
Is it possible to eliminate institutions
that have created so many reliability problems
and so much doubt in the past few years?
The answer is yes; the answer is blockchain.
The reason lies in the way the network is created.
Decentralization.
Blockchain is a global network, formed by more than 80,000 computers,
growing at an incredible rate every day.
Computers of individuals all around the world,
that in exchange for storing a copy of the network,
receive a financial reward.
People in Japan, and in Spain, anywhere in the world.
It works, and every 10 minutes it saves a copy of the network.
Every 10 minutes,
giving it its name,
a new block is created, so to speak.
Hence the chain of blocks, "blockchain."
In those 10 minutes, every transaction that is written in that block is stored,
calculating the balance
for every single person inside the network.
It really works, let's say, like a huge account book,
in which every single transaction in the Bitcoin network is stored,
moving about 200 million USD every day.
This huge account book
paves the way for many other pathways and innovations.
And it really makes us wonder if our dependency
on big corporations and large institutions
is real and necessary.
We say that blockchain works like the truth.
It is a huge database, a large account book
in which anyone anywhere around the world,
with Internet access only, can write on it,
consulting it from any part of the world.
Everything written within the blockchain is immutable,
it can never be deleted or edited.
How is this network immutable? Or how can we ensure it is?
To date, no network had ever been created with such a large number of members,
80,000 and growing, as I said.
If one member were destroyed,
tens of thousands of members would continue to exist,
continuing to save the information, therefore it is impossible to delete it.
At the same time, it paves the way for the belief that immutable truth exists,
that it really is not necessary to believe in institutions
for our daily processes or to store our information.
Since we can replace [them] and this decentralized network exists,
that allows us to replace trust with mathematical truth.
At the same time,
in addition to opening up many avenues
in terms of thinking
if our procedures surrounding institutions are the correct ones,
it paves the way and creates a framework for many innovations
which are actually taking place or being set into motion,
from the example we have here, like certifying the industrial property
or intellectual property of any type of creation.
Let's imagine a small-scale creator who begins to produce music,
or a graphic designer,
he/she does not have the capacity to go to a rights agency
or a notary to certify their work.
Blockchain solves this at little to no cost,
proving that everything entered cannot be deleted.
Once he/she proves and has precedent over their work's existence,
their authorship cannot be questioned.
Another major problem is money remittances.
For any immigrant in the room to send money to their home country,
almost all the agencies that serve as intermediaries
commit usury with the fees they impose, which are close to 20%.
Bitcoin and blockchain can solve this
instantly and at no cost, at marginal cost.
55% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa
do not have ID documents,
which means they can't access quality healthcare, their medical record,
or the education that they deserve.
Blockchain could solve this,
making their identity available at all times
from anywhere in the world without any documentation.
Searching for them within this network, one would have their global identity.
Another very interesting application of blockchain,
and this is an image of a field in Honduras,
is the certification of ownership and authorship of anything.
Earlier I raised the issue of small-scale creators,
but also any type of contract,
or even, as in this case, it is already being implemented,
in order to certify land ownership.
In places where governments
steal property of everything they can,
if they had a record of this really happening and it is their property,
the problem would be solved at marginal cost.
And another of the great solutions that blockchain provides,
is the possibility to keep track of everything.
From where the meat in my hamburger comes from
to where the cotton of my shirt comes from.
Which can involve an application rather marginal
and not so necessary day-to-day.
But for the pharmaceutical industry,
it involves billion-dollar losses, with counterfeit medicines,
a practice that is carried out every day, rising to exorbitant figures every year.
Simply by having the source laboratory
introduce an identifier for every package in blockchain,
and the doctor when giving it to the patient verifying it is valid,
and the source laboratory entering it,
this problem could be solved.
One of the major applications
on which many banks and entities are working,
is the creation of "smart contracts,"
which work like some conditional contracts
in which it is declared that if I do this,
by contract, this person will receive this benefit or whatever is agreed upon.
They work like conditional contracts, in which blockchain is an oracle.
We should think of this network as an entity,
like when our ancestors discovered fire,
they didn't know it would mark the end of an era and mean so much,
we are facing innovation of great importance.
Many people at the academy compare it as if a new Internet were emerging.
But applications are being found,
and innovations are being developed around it
which can be very interesting and solve many problems.
At the same time, it involves the immutable and decentralized layer
the Internet has always dreamed of.
The Internet is a world full of barriers in the background and very controlled.
Finding an application and technological solution
that allows everything to differ on the Internet
and that is really a channel for knowledge and free expression
is the solution.
Therefore, let's eliminate trust from the equation.
Thank you very much.
(Applause)