Patrick Schwerdtfeger is a leading authority on global business trends including the emergence of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, ‘big data’ analytics and artificial intelligence. One of the most interesting trends involves our existing credit-based monetary system which requires perpetual economic growth to function properly. Alternative currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero, and Ripple are emerging and they pose a real danger to the monetary infrastructure around the world, especially in developed nations where population growth has stopped (especially in Europe and Japan), resulting in economic stagnation. In early 2018, there were well over a thousand different cryptocurrencies in circulation, each one designed to solve a slightly different set of problems. It’s likely that two or three of these tokens will emerge as dominant players in the blockchain ecosystem. Patrick is the author of the award-winning book Anarchy, Inc.: Profiting in a Decentralized World with Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain (2018, Authority Publishing) and a regular speaker for Bloomberg TV. He has spoken about technology trends and blockchain protocol at business events and conventions around the world.
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Keynote Speech on Bitcoin and Alternative Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin is technically referred to as a cryptocurrency and is completely decentralized, not affiliated with any person or company and not associated with any particular country. Bitcoin transactions are recorded using the blockchain protocol, a technology that is significantly disrupting the financial services industry. As a virtual currency with limited supply, it’s value is determined by supply and demand. In 2013, increased interest in Bitcoin (as a result, primarily, from the closure of the Silk Road online marketplace) led the value to skyrocket from less than $10 in January to over $1200 in December, before retreating to the $600 level. Patrick’s keynote on the Bitcoin phenomena reviews this history but then quickly moves on to the implications for individuals, companies and governments.
In our current credit system, money is created by purchasing loans; loans which all have an interest rate. That means the amount of currency tomorrow must be larger than the amount of currency today. Is that sustainable? Will our credit system collapse? Will Bitcoin eventually become a viable alternative to traditional currencies? Nobody knows, but it’s use will almost certainly increase over time and that makes it an important trend to watch. The first Bitcoin ATM machine was installed in Vancouver in 2013 and more are sure to follow. Where will it all lead? This is the perfect time to bring in a keynote speaker like Patrick Schwerdtfeger to discuss the implications for your audience.
Keynote Speaker on Cryptocurrencies
Countries all around the world are printing money like never before, all in order to keep our economies moving forward. We are quite literally in uncharted territory and if you look at the charts, they all look the same. We’re on our way up the hockey curve and the tactics are completely unsustainable. The United States is printing money (commonly referred to as quantitative easing) and so is the UK, Europe and Japan. Some would call it currency wars or at a minimum, currency manipulation, but the fact is that our credit systems requires perpetual growth and when that growth doesn’t materialize, the printing presses have to make up the difference.
Sooner or later, our monetary system will break. Of course, it was indeed breaking back in 2008 but the governments stepped in to ensure the aggregate debt level would continue to rise. Since then, the developed nations have simply subsidized the stagnating level of consumer and corporate debt with public government debt on a massive scale. Total debt continues to rise which is good news for the credit system but private debt is roughly flat while public debt is exploding. Who will crack first? Japan is the most likely candidate but people have been saying that for years. In the end, time will tell where the system finally falters but it’s safe to say that Bitcoin will explode in value when it does.
