The new kid on the block is digital marketplaces. What now is siupported by centralized infrastructure will be implemented in a decentralized and democratic way. Open market places with no gatekeeper. Organized by code as the agreed upon social contract. Code in the role of implementing governance, to strengthen the interests of the souvereign against the interest of the politicians.
Connecting marketplaces by bridging them is the next step after integrating the chains with cryptocurrency exchanges. Tether was the first product that integrated marketplaces by opening a channel to transfer value and provide liquidity trough arbitrage. Since exchanges need liquidity they are incentivized to connect to other exchanges using tether.
Order books before got copied and mirrored by competing exchanges for popular coins. They differentiate with their policy towards and liquidity for Altcoins. They see pumps and dumps as a sport. What can be the functions that more advanced integrations between marketplaces provide has yet to be seen but will result in the internet of Blockchains.
The moving parts in the internet of Blockchains might be the buffers in between the chains like market makers which facilitate the transfer of value from across the network of chains.
These marketplaces will trade financial contracts that are used for hedging risks, investing or betting. Just like financial institutions today run a system that can be used for the same purpose that earns them transaction fees. Banks differentiate trough their marketing and their target groups but ultimately they sell the same product. In a intransparent way that serves the interest of the few.
Blockchains will not prevent corruption, but they will make it more expensive to carry out successfully. Not political visions but efficiency gains will drive the success of code as social contract. Clear rules lower transaction costs due to less risk. Rules can't become clearer than trough automatic execution.
Less checks are needed when compliance can be automated by software. Less work means lower transaction costs and better conditions for economic development. Exchanges have to list services that are implemented by smart contracts and will provide the wires to execute them. The model to get there can be copied from SOAP and WSDL. Next generation browsers will be wallets as user interface to services.
I believe the most valuable aspect of the blockchain is the trustless transparency.
trust and transparency is achieved trough rules enforced by code, isn't it?
By "trustless" I don't mean we don't trust the blockchain, I mean the blockchain allows us to not trust each other.
me too. what I wanted to point you to is that ultimately the blockchain is software. what makes it trustless is that we agree on the rules that are enforced by that software and take the human out of the calculation. we don't have to trust the blockchain or software because we can verify it. everyone who can read software can verify how it will behave when certain conditions are met. thats mathematics. anyway, thanks for your comment!