Hi Jonkey and Dr.D,
Just like to thank you both, and everyone else, for helping to educate us on Blockchain. I find this discussion integral to our fintech opportunities going forward.
Initially I was excited about the opportunities that the introduction of the GST in India would bring us, especially when it came to fintech. Mobile wallets, branchless banking etc. are a prime target for fintech but what I've been most interested in is the information side of transactions. I would also like to say I'm no expert in this either but maybe this will help.
The focus I've had is at the moment of any given transaction, be it at a shop with a POS machine, a banking transfer, the use of an ATM machine or peer to peer payment, etc.. Every transaction has a number of things going on. Firstly there is the actual trade of currency for goods or services provided, then there's the value adding for the company, or companies, involved in providing the digital service, and lastly there's the tax component. What I've been hoping for is that TSN/NOV not only have a technology that can provide a platform for these transactions to take place smoothly but also one that can store all this information for future taxation purposes, perhaps one that even deducts the GST component and transfers it straight to the government, or the RBI or wherever.
Blockchain, as I understand it, has no central point of governance. It's controlled by a series of computers all linked to the chain of services provided - initially invented for bitcoin trading. Blocks of information are created every ten minutes or so - which record all transactions that have taken place during that timeframe - and then these blocks are added to the chain. Therefore, anyone who is connected to this chain via their own computing system, has access to the information in any given block. If any of those computers are corrupted or hacked, it does not crash the system because everyone else using the blockchain system still has access to the information gathered in these blocks. The protocols used in any given blockchain can be set up to record every transaction, the profits made by all parties involved and the tax component.
As I understand it, fintech will still be needed to provide the mobile wallets, branchless banking, peer to peer transactions etc., but it will be the Blockchain that links them all together.
Hope I haven't confused the heck out of everyone and you find this helpful,
Cheers
Rhama
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