Innovate Niagara, an organization that helps entrepreneurs start, grow & succeed, connects us with Brian Byrne from Great Lakes Blockchain to share his professional insights about blockchain technology.

I am an award-winning musician. I spent the latter years of my career trying to understand what went wrong. Why are we holding down the people who create industry? From music to finance? None of it made sense. So as I became more familiar with blockchain and its use cases, it became clear to me that it is the future of technology and finance.

All stocks, currency, commodities etc., fluctuate, but when you introduce transparency and responsibility, it is a different story. It will fluctuate hugely based on the FOMO, fud, etc., but not based on the actual store of value. That is why I have remained with so much trust in blockchain, precisely because of the following four core tenants:

1. Blockchain is Global. It is not limited by geography. It can send and resolve transactions from Canada to Kenya without the involvement of intermediaries. Unlike fiat currency at a bank, these transactions can be conducted in seconds between the parties involved.
2. Blockchain is Borderless. There is no need to define what region, what bank, or type of fiat currency to transact in.
3. Blockchain is secure. It is identified by your own personal set of “keys.” If properly stored and protected, no one can ever know or access the funds in your personal wallet or transact without your permission.
4. Blockchain is transparent. Everything is time-stamped, recorded and visible for all to see (minus their identity). There is no need to talk about banks, delays and having intermediaries involved in a transaction. Blockchain is a trustless system and is irrefutable.

There is no industry, company, or person in the world that would argue that these tenants could not or will not correct a flawed-centric system.

We will start seeing real, true growth if we are responsible and diligent.

Web3 / blockchain is the new and subsequent iteration of what we have evolved to accommodate. We didn’t trust initially trust debit cards, google searches etc., but the time to adopt blockchain and apply it to our given industry is here, and we would all be remiss not to at least reflect on the application of the four core tenants.

Expert Contributor:

Brian Byrne
COO, Great Lakes Blockchain

As a pioneering figure in the blockchain industry, Brian is the COO of the cryptocurrency mining company headquartered in St. Catharines. Brian is the former lead singer of the multi-platinum-selling Canadian Rock band I Mother Earth and an award-winning solo artist/ songwriter. Byrne brings over 20 years of collective experience in entertainment as well as blockchain technology.