The current state of the blockchain ecosystem, how it will evolve and how to prepare for the next steps from a business perspective. Presentation delivered at #EIC16 The narrative can be found here: http://fintank.net/position_papers/european-identity-cloud/

1. From Exploration to Implementation
Preparing for the Next Steps of Blockchain
Sebastien Meunier
Chappuis Halder & Co.
#eic16

2. 2CHAPPUIS HALDER & CO.
First there was only Bitcoin… then the world discovered Blockchain
2008 2009 2013 20162012 2014 2015
• Bitcoin.org registered
• White paper published
Bitcoin
• Block 0 mined
• 1st transaction
Bitcoin
• Begins working on a
digital currency system
Ripple
• White paper published
(smart contracts)
Ethereum
Bitcoin in the spot light
Blockchain
hype
2011
• Launch of Bitcoin
exchange & wallet
Coinbase
2010
Google trends
• 1st bank to experiment
with Bitcoin/Blockchain
Fidor Bank
Next?

3. 3CHAPPUIS HALDER & CO.
Blockchain: a revolution or an illusion?
?

4. 4CHAPPUIS HALDER & CO.
Key characteristics of the Bitcoin Blockchain
The Blockchain is a
distributed ledger
(network of ~6500
nodes) used to
securely record the
Bitcoin transactions
Distributed: all nodes in the network have the same role
Public: everyone has access to the history of transactions
Permissionless: anyone can become a participant
Pseudonymous: a secure address is used as identity
Secure: the proof of work and chaining of the blocks make
any attempt to alter the transactions practically impossible
Immutable: transactions can never be modified
2 main
usages
Bitcoin: Peer-to-peer exchanges of units of value,
solving the double-spending problem
Trust system: the Blockchain itself ensures the trust
between participants, without the need of intermediaries

5. 5CHAPPUIS HALDER & CO.
Beyond Blockchain, the distributed ledger ecosystem
Litecoin, Dogecoin, Dash, Peercoin, Monero,
Bytecoin, Blackcoin, Gridcoin, Decred
Namecoin, Emercoin
Bitshares, Nxt, NEM
Ripple (real-time gross settlement, remittance, FX)
Stellar (payments & remittance)
Ethereum (smart contracts)
Multichain (Coin Sciences), Bankchain (itBit),
Setl, Bloq, Eris, Epiphyte, Symbiont, Clearmatics,
Openchain (Coinprism), Blockstack (DAH), Chain,
Azure BaaS, …
Specialized
networks
Alternative
cryptocurrencies
Private
distributed ledgers

6. 6CHAPPUIS HALDER & CO.
Build your own Blockchain – the DL stack
Distributed applications
(Use-cases / Business services)
Integration
services
User
interface
API /
Toolkits
Business Logic
(Rules, Smart contracts)
Asset Management
(Colored coins, …)
Settlement
(Consensus protocol, Token)
Transport
(Network protocol)
BaaS

7. 7CHAPPUIS HALDER & CO.
The end game is still unclear
Competing
networks
Bitcoin
Blockchain
Ethereum
…
…
Gateways
1
Universal trust
service
Public Blockchain
3
Standard-driven
ecosystem
Payments
Identity
Securities
2

8. 8CHAPPUIS HALDER & CO.
How to prepare for the next steps
6 – 18months 2 – 3 years 4+ years
Experimentation and
first large scale PoC
Efforts to build
industry standards
Niche innovations in
large markets
Global
trends
Emergence of global
standards
Large partnerships/JV
Disruption of small
markets
New markets
Mainstream
adoption?
Major industry-
wide disruptions,
elimination of
intermediaries?
Collaborate
 Be involved in consortiums
 Organize hackathons
What businesses should do right now
Develop awareness
 Set up internal trainings
 Organize market watch
Experiment
 Identify relevant use-cases
 Launch proof of concepts
Develop your strategy
 Define your priorities
 Build your roadmap
Anticipate the change
 Analyze impacts on IT,
processes, organization

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Identify relevant use-cases
When all you have in
mind is a blockchain,
everything looks like a
blockchain use-case

10. 10CHAPPUIS HALDER & CO.
Not all business use-cases are relevant / disruptive
Build distributed ledgers at industry /
consortiums level
Leverage existing public DL to:
• Store “proofs” outside the firewall (BTC)
• Build distributed applications (ETH)
Build a private DL at Group level
From a business perspective, 3 ways to
build a distributed ledger solution
Level of disruption
Disruption of intermediaries,
efficiency for the participants
From enhancement of existing
services to significant impact
and creation of new services
Efficiency~ over existing systems
for some specific use-cases

11. 11CHAPPUIS HALDER & CO.
6 ways to work with Distributed Ledgers
Internal
experimentations
Market watch
Sponsorships
of accelerators /
hackathons
Partnerships with
startups or service
providers
Participation to
workgroups /
consortiums
Strategic
Investments
(Venture Capital)

12. 12CHAPPUIS HALDER & CO.
Final thoughts
 Still early days for distributed ledgers
 Hot topics: standardization, identity management, legal &
compliance issues
 Blockchain technology is an enabler – the Business perspective is key
 Be aware of what’s happening, identify relevant use-cases,
experiment, develop your strategy
 Technology providers / Consultancies can help, but important to
develop in-house competencies