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【洞見】關注金融科技的發展應用，金融界特邀前沿專家，對話科技，預見未來！
本期嘉賓： Brian Lio SmithandCrown區塊鏈研究所執行長
區塊鏈技術將廣泛應用於多維領域
金融界：區塊鏈技術最近取得了哪些突破？未來區塊鏈技術發展的總趨勢是什麼？區塊鏈技術高度發達的時代將是怎樣的？
Brian Lio：在當前的區塊鏈技術格局中，我們看到許多新的趨勢已經出現，但有三個並行發展的趨勢需要特別關注：企業/機構區塊鏈、數字證券（Stos）和一系列更加去中心化的舉措（公用代幣、基礎協議、IEO等）。這些技術中的每一項都代表了區塊鏈技術在比特幣之外的重要應用成果。
企業區塊鏈技術主要應用於提高效率，並通過參與者聯合管理的受信任系統來去除中介。從《財富》100強企業到各國政府，許多組織都採用和發展了這些技術。雖然現在還處於早期，但大型組織將會越來越多地看到區塊鏈可以為企業帶來的潛在效率提高。
在數字證券和STOs中，我們看到了金融系統和結構的進步。證券業可以受益於區塊鏈技術的有效性、安全性和流動性。第一批被採用並活躍使用的STOs（證券通證發行）很可能與現有產品非常相似，而它們真正的潛力，則在於將加密經濟系統的巨大潛力與由證券建立的工具和價值體系結合在一起。這種加密經濟系統的設計，常見於所謂的實用型代幣裡。一旦基礎設施建成，同時投資者更習慣數字資產後，我們就會在第二代數字證券中看到真正的創新發生，其中可能會包括各種新奇而強大的創新結構。
儘管傳統的參與者和商業模式（如企業和傳統金融）在實施這些技術的方面具有巨大資源優勢，但我們看到大多數有趣而顛覆性的發展來自於非傳統項目的應用前景。這些項目在如何尋找用戶、建立社區和籌集資金方面，都是有別於傳統的。在Genesis Mining、ICOs和現在的IEO的第一輪募資活動中，我們都看到了這一點。此外，我們還看到了一些領域，如Web3、完全去中心化的交易所、預測市場、私人貨幣、非同質化代幣（NFT）和分散的自治組織（DAOS）等等，所有這些領域都以自己的方式開闢道路，並不斷發展壯大。
當我們評估區塊鏈技術的當前狀態時，了解技術發展的速度、以及它在任何兩個領域的應用之間有多大差異是非常重要的。人們普遍希望能夠將整個行業體系簡化為類似網際網路的應用，正如我們經常聽到的，「這就像X年的網際網路」。然而，我們已經擁有了一個強大的全球網際網路，這些想法已經以不同的速度、在不同的組織、以不同的方式應用於數十個行業。下一個大型發展和應用可能來自其中任何一個行業。
監管關鍵在於多方公開對話
金融界：對加密貨幣交易的有效監管是世界各國政府面臨的一個共同問題，美國一些地區最近甚至呼籲禁止加密貨幣。您認為與傳統的支付方式相比，加密貨幣交易有哪些優點和風險？ 政府有必要嚴格監管嗎？
Brian Lio：監管是必要的，具有積極意義。當監管適當時，它為參與者給出了明確的指導和清晰的框架，這為公司投資開發這些技術提供了信心，也讓用戶對安全、追索權和風險有明確的期望。但由於這個呈指數增長的行業具有廣闊的前景，在行業發展和演變如此迅速的情況下，制定出全面而明確的監管方案是不可能的。成功的關鍵讓是監管機構、企業、企業家和終端用戶之間通過透明的方法進行公開對話，重視信息披露和信息標準。當一項技術和市場同時有如此多的側面時，提高活動與參與的質量和標準的一個更關鍵的方法是集中精力確保參與者能夠獲得他們決策所需的信息，包括關於披露、教育和信息的標準。技術的增長是全球化的、去中心化的、而且極其迅速的，傳統的監管方法往往不奏效，因此行業和監管機構需要共同努力，確保在創新的同時，保留適當的保護措施。
企業區塊鏈技術運用應該量體裁衣
金融界：微軟、facebook、IBM等世界知名企業都致力於區塊鏈的戰略布局。您認為企業在區塊鏈相關的技術突破、用戶開發、招商引資等方面應該做些什麼？
Brian Lio：企業採用和應用區塊鏈技術的最重要方面是平衡其當前狀態的現實情況與技術的快速採用和開發速度。
我們經常看到進入這個領域的公司把區塊鏈視為下一代企業必須擁有的技術和必須檢查的板塊，但在現實中，區塊鏈技術的在應用的成熟程度以及取得價值回報的時間上都存在著巨大差異。這是一項必須要結合背景來考慮的技術，每個公司的最優策略只屬於他們自己。我們現在還不能找到最優的實踐方案。我們看到，應用企業區塊鏈技術最好的機會，在那些投資用來深入研究、調查和分析區塊鏈技術的組織身上。即使組織並沒有將區塊鏈技術視為其個別路線圖的一部分，它也具備極強的破壞或重塑行業的能力，不容忽視。公司很少能對顛覆性創新做出反應，而基於區塊鏈的系統的開發和應用將是一個特別強大的例子。雖然對任何一個集團來說，要全面描繪整個區塊鏈行業的前景都是一件令人望而生畏的事情，但對於付出努力研究新技術在自身業務、所處行業和關鍵流程的公司來說，這是重要的機遇和價值。
開放成果，通力合作擁抱創新
金融界：區塊鏈在影響人類生活方式和商業模式的方面具有巨大的潛力。在研究區塊鏈的過程中，您對區塊鏈的認知和態度發生了哪些變化？區塊鏈深度研究的意義和瓶頸在哪裡？為了提高區塊鏈的研究能力，如何建立學術機構與商業機構的合作模式？
Brian Lio：我們有一個基本觀點，即區塊鏈行業在整體上，大概每六個月就會在框架、流程或主題方面取得一次有意義的發展。通過這樣一項開闢諸多新領域的技術——不僅在技術方面，而且包括商業模式、監管、組織、資金等——空間複雜度發生了複雜的變化，而技術的分布性、全球化和開源特性更放大了這一點。
思想、新創新和實踐以群體的形式迅速傳播圍繞著世界各地，從每個新的網絡、機制或公開信息中學習。作為一個組織，我們已經跟進這個領域六年了，從第一天開始，我們就挑戰自己，要建立一個公司、基礎設施和專業知識，使我們能夠識別這些關鍵趨勢，然後探索和分析它們。
JRJ: What are the recent achievements in the development of blockchain technology？
What is the general trend of blockchain technology development in the future？
What would a developed blockchain era look like？
Brian Lio：In the current landscape of blockchain technology we are seeing the emergence many trends， but there are three parallel developments of particular note. These are enterprise/institutional blockchain， digital securities （STOs）， and the spectrum of more decentralized initiatives （utility tokens， base protocols， IEOs， etc.） Each of these represents key developments in the evolution， adoption and impact of these technologies as they move beyond Bitcoin.
Enterprise blockchain typically revolves around the use of these technologies to increase efficiency and remove intermediaries through a trusted system governed by a federation of constituents. We see adoption and development of these systems in organizations ranging from Fortune 100s to a variety of governments. While in the early stages， large organizations are more and more seeing the potential benefits of the efficiency that blockchain can bring to enterprise.
In digital securities and STOs， we see a natural progression of many current financial systems and structures. Securities can benefit from the effectiveness， security and liquidity of blockchain technologies. The first wave of STOs that are adopted and actively used will likely closely resemble existing offerings； their real potential lies in combining the vast potential of cryptoeconomic systems design more often found in so-called utility tokens with the tools and value systems offered by securities. Once the infrastructure is in place and investors become more comfortable with the idea of a digital asset， we see the real innovation taking place in this second generation of digital securities where novel， exotic and genuinely powerful structures can be created and used.
Though traditional players and business models， such as enterprise and traditional finance， have a large advantage in resources to implement these technologies， we see much of the most interesting and disruptive developments coming from the vast landscape of non-traditional projects. These projects are non-traditional in how they find users， build community and raise funds. We observed this in fundraising efforts with the first waves of genesis mining events， ICOs and now IEOs. Further， we see areas such as Web3, fully decentralized exchanges， prediction markets， private currencies， non-fungible tokens and decentralized autonomous organizations （DAOs）， to name a few. All of these are new frontiers in their own way and have growing communities around their exploration and development.
When looking at the current state of blockchain technology it’s important to appreciate how rapidly technology is moving and how it’s application to any two areas can be wildly different. There’s a common desire to reduce the whole industry to an analogy of the adoption of the internet. "It’s like the internet in year x"， we often hear. However we already have a robust global internet and these ideas are already being applied at different rates， by different organizations and in different ways across dozens and dozens of industries. The next big development， application or mechanism could come from any of them.
JRJ: Effective regulation of cryptocurrency trading is a common problem for governments around the world， with some parts of the United States recently even calling for a ban on cryptocurrencies. In your opinion， what are the advantages and risks of cryptocurrency transactions compared with traditional payment methods？Is strict government regulation necessary？
Brian Lio：Regulation is necessary and positive； it creates guidance， direction and a clear framework for participants when done well. This gives companies the necessary confidence to invest and build on these technologies， and users clear expectations of security， recourse， and risk. . Since this is an exponential industry with so many frontiers， it’s impossible to develop comprehensive and clear regulation while the industry is in such a rapid state of development and evolution. The key to success will be both open dialogue between regulators， enterprise， entrepreneurs and end users through transparency-based approaches that value disclosure and information standards. When there are so many new aspects to a technology and market， one of the more critical ways to improve the quality and standards of activity and participation is to focus on ensuring participants have the information they need to make informed decisions and that there are standards around disclosure， education and information. The global， decentralized and extraordinary rapid advancement of these technologies mean that traditional approaches to regulation simply are often not effective both industry and regulators will need to work together to ensure that appropriate protections can exist alongside innovation.
JRJ: Microsoft， facebook， IBM and other world-renowned enterprises are committed to the blockchain strategic layout. In your opinion， what efforts should enterprises make in blockchain-related technological breakthroughs， user development， investment attraction and other aspects？
Brian Lio：The most important aspect of enterprise adoption and application of blockchain technologies is to balance the reality of their current state， （as they relate to a specific business， industry and environment） with the rapid rate of adoption and development of the technologies. Too often， we see companies moving into the space treat blockchain as the next enterprise must-have technology and a box that must be checked. In reality， applications of blockchain technology vary wildly in how ready they are for adoption and the timeline for returning value to the organization. This is a technology that must be looked at in context； the right strategy for each organization will need to be their own. We are too early for a playbook or even best practices. We see the greatest opportunities in enterprise blockchain for those organizations that invest in thoughtful research， investigation and analysis in their exploration of these technologies. Even if an organization does not see blockchain technology as part of their individual roadmap， its ability to disrupt or reshape industries is too large to be ignored. Companies can rarely afford to be reactive to disruptive innovation and the development and adoption of blockchain based systems will be a particularly powerful example of this. While a full mapping of the entire blockchain industry would be a daunting prospect for any group， there is opportunity and significant value to companies working to develop an understanding of the unique applications of the technology to their own business， industry and key processes.
JRJ: Blockchain has great potential in changing human lifestyle and present business model. In the process of studying blockchain， what changes have taken place in your understanding of blockchain？ What are the implications and difficulties in advanced research for the development of blockchain？ In order to improve the research ability of blockchain， how to build the cooperation model between academic institutions and commercial institutions？
Brian Lio：We have a fundamental thesis that the blockchain industry as a whole goes through a meaningful development in framework， process or theme about every six months. With a technology that presents so many new frontiers - from not just a technological perspective， but business models， regulatory， organizational， funding， and so forth - there becomes a compounding effect on the complexity of the space. This is further amplified by the distributed， global and open source nature of the technologies. Ideas， new innovations and practices rapidly spread as groups around the world learn from each new network， mechanism or release. As an organization， we』ve been following the space for six years and from the first day have challenged ourselves to build a company， infrastructure and expertise that allows us to identify these key trends and then to explore and analyze them.
It’s hard to overstate the complexity and potential that exists within the application of these technologies. At Smith + Crown we』ve had a particular focus on cryptoeconomic design and analysis over the last few years. This area of study effectively didn’t exist just a few years ago. Blockchain technology enables an immutable system of control over capital， and a programming language for human governance. Even at the most local levels or in specific applications this represents a whole new frontier of scientific and practical exploration， research and study. We have only begun to explore what’s possible and there will be incredible demand for the kind of research that will be necessary to understand and implement these technologies.
For the past six years we have published free， open and independent research because we believe that it’s critical that this type of research is available to those looking to participate and contribute to the industry. We always ask ourselves: what is the research and format for that research that will have the greatest impact？ To that end we focus on cryptoeconomics， global trends， and asset intelligence through in our work and via an intelligence platform （sci.smithandcrown.com） that will launch later this month， We also work directly with organizations in an advisory capacity to help ensure that we understand the set of practical challenges and opportunities faced by teams around the world. We see it as critical that research is both open to participants and thoughtfully applied in collaboration with organizations that are working to build the next generation of infrastructure， applications and businesses.