The past few days have seen a surge in the value of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. The bulls are on parade and the world of cryptocurrency trade is stirring. Some speculate that this might be the institutional investors finally making it onto the market because of the single one hundred million dollar USD buy order. Although today I would like to talk about something else that might be driving the prices up, if not right now or the short term, then in the mid and long term. The subject we are going to be discussing is the appearance of a commission that seeks to find ways for the EU to finally start adopting cryptocurrencies in the daily lives of their citizens. A move such as this would make the long term holders, also known as “Hodlers”, very excited on a vast number of exchanges across the industry.

Adoption with the help of INATBA

International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications is a new commission introduced into the fold of the European Union. This is a commission that allows for fluid and free communication between internationally based developers, policymakers and users. It is a forum with the set goal being to figure out some of the best ways that Blockchain technologies, cryptocurrencies and other applications could be adapted to and adopted. This is a part of the movement within the European Union to encourage the adoption of the new technology through the creation of a comprehensive legal framework, while also attempting to create a trusted network of applications. The network would include ways for several industries to start using it, in order to make their operations more efficient and better organized. The industries that are currently under special consideration are the financial service industry, the health industry, the agricultural industry, the energy industry, and the public services industry.

There have been many blockchain applications that have been speculated to be useful to each one of these industries. The anonymous nature that retains a public ledger of activities performed, the unalterable and unforgeable nature of blockchain technologies and the speed of data exchange ensure that the technology would be useful in each of the fields. Each industry deals with a large amount of personal data being exchanged on a daily basis between professionals and users. Data that should remain protected from those who would seek to use it to their ends. A high speed, secure exchange of such data would be made possible with the application of blockchain tech. The only thing is, how do we start developing and applying such applications?

The decisions regarding policy and technological applications are currently being made by a large forum of representatives. Each representative seems to be part of a significant player in the blockchain world or in some of the industries and policymakers who would be concerned with such decisions. Some of the founding members of INATBA are Ripple, IBM Belgium, the IOTA Foundation, Cardano Foundation, ConsenSys, Ledge and a number of others, while more are expected to either join or contribute.

So what does this mean?

The move of institutional investors towards blockchain and cryptocurrencies has been a rumored and generally discussed subject for a while. But now that one of the biggest economies in the world is trying to come up with a framework for blockchain application to industries and its own economy, it is time to reconsider how the technology is seen. Up till recently, many have considered blockchain to simply be a vehicle for cryptocurrency and trading. Today, we are finding out more and more that the applications to the real world are rather wide and interesting. Many are speculating that the very nature of blockchain is democratic, and applying of the technology to democratic processes (such as voting) and public services (welfare), might be one of the best uses the technology could see.

There are many other applications being considered for daily use. Some of them might not be available to companies that end up being publically trader (the aforementioned public services related blockchain companies would be part of that list), but some will have these applications easily available to them. For those companies that find application in the daily lives of their users, the value of their coins is going to skyrocket. If you are asking why the answer is quite simple.

A large swath of the population is being kept out of the market for a simple reason - they do not see any practical application for the technology. All they see is a bubble, one that can be used for speculation, where nothing can be precisely predicted. They see the exchanges more as gambling grounds rather than anything else. These are the new entrants to the market, who will be swayed after they see the number of practical applications that the industry actually has. This has already happened Jamie Dimon, who has regretted calling blockchain a fraud, after realizing the value of the technology, and now JP Morgan is trying to get invested in the technology. The expectation of some of the experts is that the same thing is going to happen to those individuals, investors, and traders who have been discouraged by the inability to see potential in the technology.

All of this, eventually

While the current surge is a great thing for today’s investors, many are not sure whether it will stay. We all know that Bitcoin is susceptible to pumps and dumps and other speculative schemes. While the one hundred million investment might be cause for a surge, it might also become the cause for a soon coming downfall. The only way cryptocurrency is going to stay too current levels is if the large scale investor was more than just a speculator. Maybe the investor was an institution that has an interest in keeping the currency at a high level? Many hope so. But we are not talking about today’s value. What we are hoping to see is the change in the level of blockchain adoption. The long terms, after the creation of INATBA is looking better than it ever has for crypto, and the value is going to reflect this, eventually.