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1. A few thoughts on the impact of rising cryptoasset prices and the overall accelerating pace of innovation in this industry on the corporate mindset around “blockchain” projects…
2. Increased media attention inevitably leads to both internal and external corporate stakeholders asking “what are we doing in blockchain?” or “what is our blockchain strategy?”…
3. This drives corporate R&D groups to push to “get on the board” with a “blockchain” project. Unfortunately, many of these labs groups know that sr. management is allergic to Bitcoin and other permissionless blockchains…
4. So, they end up running towards the “safe” path of private blockchain proof-of-concepts that can land a splashy press releases but that will never see the light of day in production (because they are largely pointless and don’t require a blockchain). It’s innovation theater…
5. The lack of time and attention spent on the truly transformative stuff (permissionless blockchains) drives junior talent out of the organization and towards either companies that “get it” like @Microsoft (the ION side of the house), @sqcrypto and @Fidelity, or..
6. Towards founding or joining startups that are building the infrastructure that these incumbents are ignoring. The amount of talent flowing out of financial services and tech firms right now is staggering – and most of these companies aren’t even aware it’s happening…
7. But the lack of meaningful engagement is very rationale for most corporations. These are new technologies and commercial business models that can ROI in a multi-year planning window are hard to find..
8. Then of course you have the IBGYBG problem (I’ll Be Gone You’ll Be Gone) of managers that know something is going on here but know they can avoid worrying about it on their watch if they stall, delay and ignore...
9. So what can and what should companies be doing? I’m very biased (proud alum), but I think the @Fidelity approach will become a case study for how to innovate within a large company…
10. If/when cryptoassets reach mass adoption the path the company has taken (and is taking) has the potential to be legacy defining for the senior leadership team that put the wheels in motion…
11. The Fidelity approach started as pure R&D – no over the top pressure to produce revenue immediately. The attitude from the top was that this is a potentially transformational technology – we need people that are well informed and at the bleeding edge..
12. It started with small experiments. First a mining operation, then Bitcoin payments accepted in the cafeteria, explore private chains for a while, bring in guest speakers to challenge initial assumptions, enable charitable contributions in bitcoin: fidelitycharitable.org/about-us/news/…
13. After experimenting and relentlessly listening to customer demand, you may be fortunate enough to see a compelling opportunity. @DigitalAssets is the product of this multi-year effort. The company is positioned as a market leading custodian and has world class team
14. Ultimately none of this happens without buy-in from senior leadership. The commitment from the top levels has been unwavering since the program started in 2014. What other company do you know where the CEO and her sr. team meet weekly to engage on cryptoassets?
15. Organizations are complex organisms and innovation inhibitors are around every corner (it’s human nature), but it gets a lot harder to say no when the leader of your company is giving public addresses talking about excited she is about Bitcoin coindesk.com/fidelity-ceo-t…
16. Ultimately there is so much to be excited about and so many experiments to do. Many on a shoe-string budget. Run a node, sponsor a core developer, enable Bitcoin payments somewhere in your org, experiment with @opentimestamps, but most importantly invest in education
17. These next few years are going to be wild times for this industry. Companies that invest in understanding this technology are more likely to retain star talent, understanding shifting customer preferences, and best position to not fall victim to the innovators dilemma. /Fin.
