Big Companies are Creating Internal Tokens
April 21, 2018The global debate about the usefulness and the applications of blockchain has been completed a long time ago. Quietly or more publicly, everyone seemingly agreed that the tech of distributed record keeping is an incredible tech advancement. With it, a countless number of organizations from all kinds of industries could find a way to streamline its operations.
The governments, for the most part, are also completely on board with the same idea. This is all in stark contracts to the concept of the digital currency that is run using a blockchain. As time goes by, it looks like more and more entities take on a hostile stance towards those, mainly when it comes to the upcoming regulation sweep that will impact a lot of countries.
Yet, with blockchain as a clean technology, there is zero controversy. That is why many companies have been building and testing their own blockchain system. These are either being constructed or tested, while others are definitely catching onto the trends with their plans of developing an internal token for some purpose.
How will these companies meet this challenge and what impact will it have on the wider development ecosystem? Also, will the tokens be able to somehow reach out of their digital enclosures and get to established cryptocurrencies?
Allianz Example
Allianz, the global insurance company, has recently revealed, although through a third party, that it is building its own currency transaction digital token. The token, also called Allianz, is intended to work as an internal means of bookkeeping when it comes to transactions between its offices around the planet.
The insurer currently has its presence in over 100 countries, where it does business not only with clients but also other insuring companies. This amounts to a huge system where money is regularly sent from one end to the other using the traditional banking means of transfer. This is not only expensive, but also slow and laborious for the company as well.
Ironically, it is not only the banks that need to keep the record of the movement of money but the company, which is why there is a form of double ledger being held. According to Allianz, the process at their end can result in hundreds of email inquiries and replies for just one client.
The blockchain-operated Allianz token should avoid all of that using its technology. With it, not only would the cost go down, but their overall service quality would go up. With it, a client could get a response to their inquiry almost immediately, without the need to drag a big part of the insurer into the process.
But, the token is only designed to provide that advanced system of transfers and bookkeeping. The company quickly noted that it has nothing to do with cryptocurrencies and that it pegged only to the US dollar.
Development Boost
The initiatives of creating company-based tokens are great news for blockchain developers. With this possibility, their access to projects jumps substantially, along with their ability to generate money. Startups are a great means of shooting for the sky, but most of them fail to end up scaling big.
The lot less glamorous side of the startup scene is all those ventures that failed to come through. These simply end up being closed and their investors lose money on them, while the developers lose their job postings on the same ventures.
With big companies, there is no risk of that occurring, as the payments are defined beforehand. It might not make them super-rich, but it shows that the blockchain developers career path has a future in front of it. Some options might promise a chance of glory and riches, like the startup version, but making blockchains inside of business conglomerate is more viable for those interested in stability.
In any case, the potential for finding work in the industry grows with these developments. With the same field looking more lucrative, more developers will move into it, strengthening the entire ecosystem for everyone involved.
The Crypto Connection
The representatives of Allianz went to great length to show that their token is connected only to the US dollar. The whole question and answer are undoubtedly very nerve-racking for the company, knowing that they have to keep their distance from any notion of using cryptocurrency.
Earliest, this would be an issue for the PR department, similar to the dilemma of the GPU makers. However, now it is also an issue where the legal department has to weight in. Now, with a chance of big blockchain cryptocurrency regulation, no company would want to get stuck inside of that process. That is why the company tokens are adamantly dissociated from any and all cryptocurrencies in the world.
Yet, the wall that divides them is not technical. Instead, the company simply decided to connect it to the dollar. If needed, the tech of the Allianz token or any other company’s token would easily allow connecting it with any other currency, including digital ones.
The Corporate Mindset
The attraction of the blockchain tech is clearly magnetic for so many global companies. In the financial sense, the savings that are directly produced by lowering the time and the cost of transactions is huge. It really does represent a quantitative leap forward, similar to the way eSports enhanced the idea of competitive games.
It is easy to see that with blockchain, the companies have something very solid to latch onto. It offers a means of savings and increased efficiency. However, there is a clear line of thought that also keeps a door open for the cryptocurrency connection as well.
While many in the corporate world are keeping their backs turned to bitcoin or and other cryptocurrencies, they are certainly aware of its financial potential. The looming profits is not something any corporate mindset can completely ignore.
That is why these tokens will almost certainly one day get connected to some form of a cryptocurrency. It might not be any of the current ones, but it is hard to argue that huge companies will disregard something that can generate profit on such a scale as the emerging digital currencies.