Yahoo Co-founder: Blockchain & Crypto Platforms Need to Establish ‘Trust’ to Succeed

Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang recently said that digital currencies and their underlying blockchain technology can only survive in the long-term if the crypto community builds a solid foundation of trust around them.

Yang’s comments about cryptoassets and distributed ledger technology (DLT) came during a speech he delivered at the recent Nikkei Innovation Asia Forum, held in Singapore. Notably, the tech entrepreneur

believes

blockchain-based platforms have the potential to disrupt many different traditional industries.

Specifically, Yang thinks blockchain-enabled solutions will play a key role in transforming the existing banking and finance sector. However, he emphasized that this can only happen if users are able to trust crypto and blockchain-based products.

“With Trust, Huge Opportunities” Will Come

Yang added that the emerging crypto industry could greatly benefit the world’s traditional trading platforms and streamline banking processes. The experienced Taiwanese-American businessman and former Alibaba Group board member noted that businesses could benefit from using blockchain-based systems for transactions.

Similar to what many other technology experts have said, Yang thinks DLT-enabled financial platforms could allow for greater transparency and efficiency. Commenting on why trust is important, the Stanford University graduate remarked:

For applications to get implemented successfully, trust must first be built. With trust, huge opportunities for the mass adoptions of blockchain will be realized.

As CryptoGlobe reported recently, giant US-based companies including IBM and Ford are planning to develop a blockchain-powered solution to ensure that cobalt is ethically sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Ethically Sourcing Cobalt With Blockchain

Through a partnership with tech giant IBM and automobile manufacturer, Ford, two local firms LG Chem and Huayou Cobalt have started working on a DLT-based project that will ethically source cobalt and other valuable minerals. Notably, most of the world’s cobalt is mined in the DRC, one of the least developed countries in the world.

There have been reports of the use of child labor in the DRC for extracting cobalt, which has led many consumers and business owners to inquire about whether minerals such as cobalt are being sourced ethically. The pilot blockchain project is intended to help provide verification that the companies mining cobalt are not exploiting children or engaging in other types of abusive practices.

As reported on CryptoGlobe, blockchain developers are still being offered generous salaries despite the prolonged crypto bear market. The median salary for blockchain developers is of about $140,000 per year. In 2018, there was reportedly more than 300% in DLT-related jobs.