Blockchain technology is donning a cap and gown and graduating with honors. While the technology has merely existed as a white paper ‘diploma’, it is now ready to go out into the world and incite real change. Blockchain is on the brink of transforming the very foundation of our economy, our society, and the ways in which business is done. Since the advent of Bitcoin, the blockchain has become a knowledgeable student, one that is trustworthy, intelligent, and multi-talented, and it is only fitting that it is now joining the ranks of Ivy League institutions.

MIT

According to the MIT Technology Review, the blockchain has an innate value that must be recognized. Maybe it won’t make you a billionaire overnight, but what it will do is provide the most valuable asset out there-trust. Going through the history of centralized establishments, the MIT Technology Review considers the cost of trust in our current economic systems. One manifestation spotlight on the Lehman Brother’s dubious data records, later rendering a bankrupt company and an economy in torrential crisis. Another example included in the review is the cost to accessibility. Today, close to two billion individuals are denied bank accounts as banks question the legitimacy of identities and records. Luckily, this is where the blockchain comes in. Based upon a system of mathematical rules and cryptography, rather than the human ego, integrity is engrained in the entire system. And according to MIT, “It could drastically reduce the cost of trust by means of a radical, decentralized approach to accounting—and, by extension, create a new way to structure economic organizations.

Harvard

Joining the conversation, the Harvard Business Review considers another notable cost in our current system. Despite the rapid digital transformation of our economy, it seems as though the tools we use to create structure have not kept up. According to the Harvard Business Review, contracts, transactions, and records are at the heart of our most important systems, facilitating every interaction in our economic, political, and legal structures. With updated capabilities, the blockchain has the potential to recreate and redefine the architecture of each of these systems in our digital economy.

“With blockchain, we can imagine a world in which contracts are embedded in digital code and stored in transparent, shared databases, where they are protected from deletion, tampering, and revision. In this world every agreement, every process, every task, and every payment would have a digital record and signature that could be identified, validated, stored, and shared. Intermediaries like lawyers, brokers, and bankers might no longer be necessary. Individuals, organizations, machines, and algorithms would freely transact and interact with one another with little friction. This is the immense potential of blockchain.”

King’s College, England

Becoming the ‘Kings of the Block’, King’s College seeks to bring understanding to distributed ledger technologies and platforms. A hub for global finance and Fintech, King’s College explores the challenges and the advantages of the blockchain.

Advantages:

• Hashing capability to enable ongoing chain
• Cryptographic identity assurance
• Eliminates need for a central authority
• Replicated records

Challenges

• Scalability
• Managing multiple ledgers
• Compliance
• User-Friendliness

…The blockchain has the potential to recreate and redefine the architecture of each of these systems in our digital economy.TWEET THISAccording to the ‘Kings’, the blockchain is a re-defining moment for global institutions: “Just as the  adoption of the Web led companies to re-engineer business processes within companies, the  adoption of blockchains will lead to re-engineering of the processes between companies.”

An increasing number of institutions are beginning to invest in blockchain research and education programs. There are certainly new lessons to be learned, and with early adoption, we’ll be prepared to ace the test of time.