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ARTICLE · 22 DECEMBER 2016

How Will Blockchain Disrupt Me?

Gowling WLG
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Fans of the HBO show Silicon Valley will know that the core of every tech start-up's message is "We're making the world a better place."

CanadaTechnology
Mark Hines
Mark Hines
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Fans of the HBO show Silicon Valley will know that the core of every tech start-up's message is "We're making the world a better place." And even casual readers of business and technology news will have read something about blockchain or distributed ledger technology over the past year. Blockchain will certainly be a transformative technology, but much of that transformation or "disruption" will not be readily apparent to most people, at least initially. But, the changes driven by blockchain are coming, affecting long-established marketplaces, consumer choice, and the role of a regulator in a digital age. The world may indeed become a better place.

Current state of blockchain

Most commentary about the impact of blockchain has focused on financial services. Today, financial transactions require a number of steps and organizations to verify the identities and information involved in the transaction. Each of these steps carries with it additional time and cost. The

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