Q8Trade: In Blockchain We Trust | Ali Hassan | #AAS2018

Editor's Notes

1. This trust in technology undermines trust in traditional institutions as it is eroding away while blockchain is gaining its popularity because it combines the openness of the internet with the security of cryptography giving people a safer and faster way to transact.
2. So, what is blockchain? A blockchain is a digitized, decentralized, public ledger of all cryptocurrency transactions. The blockchain is perhaps the main technological innovation of Bitcoin. Bitcoin isn’t regulated by a central authority. Instead, its users dictate and validate transactions when one person pays another for goods or services, eliminating the need for a third party to process or store payments.
3. While every expert in every field is trying to figure out what bitcoin is and how it will change business, this technology has been growing and the blockchain market, now worth approximately $600 million, is poised to grow to $7.74 billion by 2024, per Grand View Research. This means that large organizations need to adjust. A study by Juniper Research finds that 57% of large corporations say they are either actively considering or in the process of implementing blockchain technology. 
4. Blockchain technology not only provides an opportunity for organizations to gain efficiencies, but also creates a culture of transparency. Let’s take banks as an example. With more than 50% of the world’s population being under 30 years of age, people are still wary of banks. This is based on WEF's Global Shapers Survey that found that 45.3% of respondents disagreed with the statement that they trust banks to be fair and honest. This makes us understand that brands and institutions can either stand or fall by reputation built on trust, consistency and transparency.
5. Since many facets of business and communication is affected by blockchain, much of the discussion to date has been about its impact on banking and financial transactions. Blockchain’s impact could go beyond currency and finance to affect marketers of all products and services: Today, the internet is accessible almost by anyone and since users must go through traditional gatekeepers, such companies can learn almost everything we do online. Even though users are enjoying fair access, they are unconsciously giving up much of their privacy. For example, while 2.23 billion monthly active users are using the services offered by Facebook, they are unaware of the ease in which their personal data is being traded with advertisers.
6. On the other hand, consider how marketing would change if marketers didn’t have access to all the user data they currently have. Without a plethora of information about each individual browsing, marketers would have to rely on gathering data directly from prospects and customers to fill in the gaps. Blockchain could soon allow users to voluntarily decide what type of content and ads they want to see. When you share data, it’s important to have guarantees. With blockchain, you can guarantee that no one has tampered with the original data. Using the technology and concepts behind blockchain is one of the only ways to build a coherent, multi-party ecosystem fit for the 21st Century and thus empowering the people while breaking barriers to information.
7. We are constantly paying to be bothered by ads. Popular media sites have about 70 trackers calling out, using your battery and slowing down the page load while increasing your data cost. Users are now trying to protect themselves with ad blocking. It is on over 600 million phones and desktops and rising. Therefore, the solution lies on a decentralized, transparent digital ad exchange based on the blockchain. In the online content and digital advertising industry, blockchain can help level the playing field and create platforms where everyone gets compensated fairly for their contribution to the economy.
8. Blockchain creates an entirely new way to serve ads and reward publishers without the need for opaque intermediaries. One of the most notable projects in this regard is the Brave browser. Brave natively blocks ads and trackers when you browse the web. In exchange users can opt-in to turn on ads, in which case both viewer and publisher get awarded Basic Attention Tokens (BATs), the company’s proprietary digital currency which exists on top of the Ethereum blockchain. Users can also choose to send BATs to the creators of their favorite content. Brave comes integrated with a BAT wallet. The browser uses local algorithms to assess user attention and optimize ads while preventing fraud and avoiding privacy invasions. The system uses anonymization methods to protect user identities while providing advertisers with a verifiable audit trail on the blockchain. The main hurdle for Brave’s method of advertising and monetizing content is to get publishers and advertisers to adopt the model. As we look ahead to a fully automated future, blockchain can not only ensure true transparency; it can help to restore much of the trust that has been lost. Implementing this on a wider scale could, therefore, prove significantly transformative for an industry that continues to grapple with such intrinsic issues; and it is likely we will see a rapid adoption of the technology in the near future.
9. Nowadays, Blockchain is drawing significant focus and investments from many financial institutions in the industry. With over 200 underlying assets available nowadays, Q8 Trade is the ultimate gateway to a world of trading. Q8 Trade provides clients with a wide selection of tradable assets those of which include major forex pairs, equity indices, commodities, stocks, and cryptocurrencies. At Q8 Trade, we believe that education is a key component to success and therefore, our mission is not only to provide our clients with an outstanding, user-friendly trading platform, but also to empower them by educating them. In doing this, we create an improved trading environment for the clients enabling them enhance their experience for a better return on investment.