The following story was published in the August-September 2022 issue of Inquirer RED and has been edited for length and clarity.
Victor Consunji is the Chief Executive Officer of Victor Consunji Development Corporation (VCDC).
Every few years since the early 2000s, things about NFTs, blockchains and cryptocurrencies, [the technology has] Gaining and losing momentum all the time. A lot of people hyped it up because it’s speculative, just like Bitcoin. People buy bitcoin because they think the value will skyrocket. and other coins.
I believe that in order for anything to be valuable, it must have a practical use.
This is actually what annoys me about encryption. I believe that in order for anything to be valuable, it must have a practical use. So you can’t tell me a bitcoin is worth $20,000 when you can’t buy anything with it. You can buy bitcoin, but you can’t use it to buy anything else. At least not very efficient. Also, you can’t tell me the value when the value doesn’t stay stable.
After saying this, there is hype around, [the technology has been] Kind of ease into the mainstream. On the other hand, the technology behind it is very useful. The blockchain behind it and the ability of that blockchain to serve as a tool in responsible hands can be a paradigm shift in how we conduct business and how we interact. This is my main interest.
That’s why we started exploring all NFTs, blockchains and cryptos. I think this technology, just like how the internet changed things and continues to do so, blockchain will do the same.
While the internet is what we use to communicate and find information, blockchain will change the way we transact and the way we secure transactions and contracts. It’s essentially the digitization of what we do in law.
We have this ancient legal filing system. In the Philippines, everyone must sign every page. If you really think about it, what makes you cling to this piece of paper? It’s a bit of ink from a fancy ballpoint pen on a piece of paper. How does ink or paper show promise? Most importantly, you’re not actually holding the paper accountable for anything. That’s just what you do, it’s symbolic. Ultimately, any commitment written lives in the hearts of all parties involved. That piece of paper is just a reminder that it is what you promised.
So you’ve got this system that we’ve been using for a long time – ever since we put charcoal on a stone and it ended up turning into papyrus and eventually real paper.
Why can’t it be digitized? This is the next step.
Everyone’s dilemma with digital trajectories is that it’s less tangible and easier to manipulate. Confidence does not exist. But blockchain technology has verification capabilities. As you learn more about the technology, it’s now your possible tool for securing contracts, commitments, and everything else.
Let’s step away from the hype and look at the technology. This technique is very useful. The hype will pass.