2023 is going to be a big year for blockchain.
It’s all too easy to get bogged down by the current news cycle, which is understandably focused on a bear cycle in digital asset markets (to say nothing of the bad actors contributing to that phenomenon). But if you’re overly focused on that narrative, you risk overlooking the emergence of a trend that will have far more significant – and positive – ramifications in the long term: businesses are increasingly adopting blockchain technology to power real-world applications, and they’re doing so at an unprecedented rate.
Blockchain’s Original Promise
We’ve long believed that blockchain’s potential for truly mainstream adoption would be contingent on business and government organizations incorporating it into their existing technology stacks as an additive tool. When it comes to adopting blockchain-based technology, it’s not about ripping and replacing your existing infrastructure; blockchain is a means to realize more efficient output with your existing tools.
Blockchain is not a panacea that cures all of the world’s ills; it is, however, the most effective form of copy protection and digital certification the world has ever seen. Organizations of all shapes and sizes are constantly confronted with the challenge of proving ownership and authentication of their assets, whether that’s a mortgage reconciliation, an auto lease, a patent, a coupon code… the list goes on (and on).
Blockchain represents the first time businesses and governments have ever been able to securely store their data in a tamper-proof and fully traceable manner. Doing so represents almost limitless potential (or, according to Gartner, more than $3 trillion in unrealized value).
So, why did it take this long for us to get to this point?
Clearing Hurdles
First and foremost, it’s exceptionally complex and time-consuming for large-scale organizations to adopt new technology. These organizations, whether they’re in the private or public sector, must first consider security and compliance, before even getting to more product-centric concerns like performance and accessibility.
With its decidedly open source roots, blockchain development was always going to focus first and foremost on moving fast and breaking things, so to speak. The developers that drove blockchain’s mainstream emergence were focused on building the most innovative offerings imaginable, and less so on how a given organization could ensure its compliance with GDPR or HIPAA when deploying data in a blockchain environment.
This is the natural course of development for emerging technologies, whether it’s the rise of the world wide web, introducing new operating systems or any other major initiative. You need to first and foremost prove that a new technology can drive massive new efficiencies that make its adoption worthwhile. Blockchain has done just that for securely storing and transferring key data – and now, we shift to making this technology as accessible as possible for a broader audience.
Casper Labs’ Mission
This is the mindset with which we founded Casper Labs in 2018: we exist to deliver blockchain-based software and professional services that drive revenue and radical efficiency for companies and governments alike. We are on a mission to build the essential foundation for an entirely new era of customer value and business success – and we’re built for the long term.
Our focus is on partnering with businesses that recognize that blockchain technology can make existing processes and workflows more efficient, not as a rip-and-replace solution for all of their current infrastructure. We have spent the past 4+ years building out and testing (and re-testing) an unparalleled suite of enterprise-grade tools that caters to the specific needs of large-scale organizations building on the Casper Blockchain. Our guiding focus is to meet these organizations where they are in their journey, and to cater our solutions to their specific needs.
Where We Are – And Where We’re Going
This approach is paying off; our pipeline is growing at an unprecedented clip, and Casper Labs continues to grow our team (yes, even in this market).
With this in mind, here’s a preview of some of the exciting initiatives you can expect from us in the year ahead:
- We’ll be back in Davos this January, sponsoring the Blockchain Hub and connecting with some of the world’s largest companies and governments from around the world on how organizations are driving positive business outcomes with blockchain technology – and we’ll be livestreaming the whole event from Casper Labs’ YouTube page.
- We’re going to be expanding our partnerships with IBM and Hyperledger, two of the pioneers in the enterprise blockchain space, to provide the most accessible, flexible and secure solution for organizations building in hybrid, public and private blockchain environments.
- We’ll be announcing another partnership with a Fortune 100 company in the coming weeks – stay tuned.
- We’re already SOC 2 compliant – and we’re on the verge of reaching SOC 2, Type 2 compliance. When this happens, we’ll be the only blockchain organization to hold this designation, further cementing our reputation as the enterprise-grade blockchain.
- We’ll be rolling out the Chengdu Chain, in partnership with BSN. Casper will be the official blockchain for the Chengdu prefecture in China; all blockchain development activity there will be happening on Casper.
- Casper 2.0 is coming in Q3.
- We’re also proud to have just introduced an evolved brand and website for Casper Labs that’s reflective of our continued growth within enterprise organizations and beyond.
It’s never been a busier, more exciting or productive time for Casper Labs – and I’m seeing that sentiment mirrored in the broader Casper community. It’s humbling to see more organizations and builders gravitating to this project just as we reach a broader tipping point for blockchain adoption.
Here’s to a banner year ahead!
