In a well-considered opinion piece in WIRED, the magazine considers the landmark importance of what I'm calling Chinese president Xi Jinping's "Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain" speech from October 25. I call it that because literally 7% of the speech was just the word "blockchain" and ever since then we've had a monumental media push from the Chinese media apparatus to seed pro-blockchain articles everywhere.
I keep harping on this event because I don't think it can be said enough. If you're investing in anything that has to do with blockchain, you should read the article. In the words of the Wired op-ed's author, Kevin Werbach, a Harvard Law School grad and professor at The Wharton School, "The significance shouldn’t be underestimated."
I've used the term before, but I guess we're all doing this now:
Blockchain with Chinese characteristics.
That's what we're all calling it now. So get with it! The implication is that the supercharging of capitalism that China started in the 1980s with its hybrid state capitalism model, they are now about to do to blockchain technology. It's like, Steemians all know that blockchain is supposed to be all decentralized and shit, but that doesn't mean it has to always be that way.
And since American politics on both sides of the aisle is about as inept as I've ever seen it in my 40+ years, it looks like the US is just gonna stand idly by.
A couple points that Werbach emphasizes so bluntly they are worth repeating for emphasis:
"All of finance is turning into fintech."
"Blockchain will enable this fintech revolution, in concert with artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and other innovations."
That China realizes this fact at the top tiers of leadership while the US, seemingly, does not, is just so telling. As people my age and younger understand, to paraphrase the immortal words of Electronic Arts (EA).. It's time, America,
GET IN THE GAME!