Blockchain technology has impacted the real estate industry in a variety of ways, including offering a new means for buyers and sellers to connect with one another. Moreover, Blockchain could be used to cut intermediaries out of the real estate transaction process, thereby reducing costs. This technology could also help to codify the practice of fractional ownership of real estate.

Global real estate is worth hundreds of trillion of dollars, but is dominated by the wealthy and large corporations. Through blockchain technology, it is possible that more people will be able to access the market where transactions can be made more transparent, secure and equitable. Real estate transactions may eventually become truly peer to peer activities with blockchain powered platforms doing most of the work.

In view of these, we've invited Joshua Kagan, CEO and Co-Founder of BONFIRE, a very promising US FinTech company based in Denver, Colorado as he explains to us the value proposition of Blockchain technology in a real estate industry as well as its significant relevance to our digital economy.

https://www.bonfire.capital

Being relevant – to the market and to consumers – is paramount

How a company responds to these changes and trends

For instance, Amazon, Uber and Netflix are classic examples of companies that combine these elements and embody the very face of digital disruption. Both platforms capitalize on new technologies and changing consumer habits, and both have significantly impacted traditional businesses and systems in their respective industries. Their disruptive presence – and rapid rise – forced established and entrenched companies to rethink their tried-and-true models.

As with most aspects of digital transformation, the outlook for data analysis appears to demonstrate that adoption is heading in one direction— UP.

Business leaders, all the way up to the C-Suite, are more inclined than ever to invest in predictive analytics. McKinsey found that 70% of business leaders agree that predictive analytics has changed their respective industries in at least in a moderate way.

Combine that with the efficiency and competitive benefits that can be achieved through these solutions, and it’s almost certain that data analytics platforms will be the norm, rather than the exception.

In view of these, we've invited Jaap Vink, a seasoned predictive analytics professional and the executive consultant of Zeno Analytics based from Zeist, The Netherlands as explains to us the significant relevance of Predictive Analytics to our digital economy.

https://www.zenoanalytics.com/

According to the survey from McKinsey, adoption of digital banking in emerging markets has caught up with that in developed markets. Between 2017 and 2021, the share of consumers in Asia–Pacific emerging markets actively using digital banking increased sharply, rising 33 percentage points from 54 percent in 2017 to 88 percent in 2021. The level of digital adoption among consumers in developed Asia–Pacific markets has remained stable at approximately 90 percent.

From barter to cash to checks to online banking, money is an evolving technology that has been part of human history for thousands of years. While cash is expected to remain a significant payment instrument in the near future, factors such as “contactless” pay systems, increasing mobile penetration, and high costs of cash like ATM fees for individuals, cash storage for businesses, currency printing for governments, among others are prompting society to reconsider its ubiquity. Some experts support less-cash operations, arguing that high denomination notes should be phased out as smaller bills slowly fall towards disuse. 

We can categorically say that we are likely approaching a less-cash future, not a completely cashless future. And, while progress has been made in this transition, it has hardly been universal or uniform. A migration to a cashless economy includes considerations ranging from the purely financial to those social in nature. Consequently, a country’s specific technological, financial, and social situations will inform its specific benefits, drawbacks, and approach to such a transition.

In view of these, we've invited once again, Kannan Swaminathan, Chief Executive at WhiteBridge Consulting LLC to discuss the value proposition of Cashless initiatives in our digital economy.