At Mapleblock Capital, we have bet our full attention on the blockchain. However, for those outside the industry, it could be hard to understand the reasoning behind such a choice. In simple words, a blockchain is a database with a shared global state that can be validated by every party in the network. This simple property allows blockchain to have far-reaching potential by allowing people to settle transactions globally without any permissions or counterparty risk. This becomes incredibly important because it is the only method, developed so far, that we can use to run a global economic system over the internet. Hence, blockchain allows us to add a ‘money’ layer and ‘verification’ layer on the internet and opens up the doors to a new epoch for the web altogether.
Let’s discuss further the applications and possibilities of blockchain:
1. The first application of blockchain technology was Bitcoin. Bitcoin has all the properties of being global, fast, permissionless, and works without counter-parties; however what’s interesting is that Bitcoin was designed as a fixed supply digital asset, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Thus, the programmability of blockchain allows for the creation of different financial products that mirror the real world. The Bitcoin case in point mirrors the store of value properties of Gold, however different blockchains have different properties with the same core principles.
2. Newer blockchains with the ability to run smart contacts have taken this disruption further, allowing for use cases like trading, lending, micro-payments, insurance, options, and other financial primitives to also run on the blockchain. This is a massive disruption because it gives access to the unbanked & average person from the 3rd world to participate in the same economic system as everyone else, creating a more level playing field and opportunities to make money.
3. Our core thesis is also based on the idea that going long on deep-tech is always a good bet. If we weren’t looking at blockchain we would still be investing our time in cutting-edge technology such as AI, quantum computing, advanced health tech, and electronic vehicles. This is because, in our observation, a new wave of technology has the biggest role in making new kings of any generation. The blockchain space of today mirrors the early days of the internet in both users and speculation and has shown tremendous growth in the past years.
4. Earlier in this piece, we described blockchain as the basis of a ‘money’ layer on the internet. While that is true for the early applications of blockchains such as Bitcoin, a better abstraction to describe blockchain would be an ‘ownership-verification’ layer. What this means is that newer blockchains allow us to build infrastructure to verify ownership of anything digital on the internet. The most common popular application of this technology is NFTs. NFTs have far-reaching implications for monetization and revenue models of internet businesses, such as video games, music, and streaming. This is another major application that has the potential to generate value.
This is the core of our thesis as to why we believe that blockchain is still early and the next big bet in technology.
LET’S LOOK INTO SOME STATISTICS
- Survey of Tech-savvy teams stated that 74% of them believe that blockchain has huge business potential.
- $552 million was spent by various financial institutes on blockchain-powered projects.
- Business Forecasting indicates that around $20billion will be spent on blockchain technical services per year by the end of 2024.
- National cryptocurrencies have been adopted or researched by more than 20 countries around the globe.
- Around 90% of European and U.S. banks have shown their interest in exploring blockchain potential by 2018.
About Mapleblock Capital Mapleblock Capital is a rapidly growing digital assets investment firm based out of Asia and the Middle East. The firm has over 120 blockchain investments and has backed leading projects across all blockchain sub-sectors such as DeFi, Infrastructure layers, Gaming, NFTs, and DAOs.
Mapleblock is self-funded by its founder and is independent of LP pressure to provide ROI or deploy capital fast thus resulting in promising growth. This helps the firm to deploy capital strategically and hold them for an average of 2 years+.
The firm has made several more undisclosed deals with some really exciting projects in the space. Mapleblock Capital is focused to build a strong brand and identity within the niche through its impressive portfolio and strong support to new entrepreneurs. This makes Mapleblock one of the best asset investment firms, promising linear growth in the coming future.
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