Keith Herman is the founder of global investment firm IPA Equities, an entrepreneur, investor, strategist, board member, advisor, speaker, writer, mentor, and advocate for blockchain technologies and numerous charities.  He has owned and created more than 50 businesses over the past 30 years in 6 different industries primarily in the fields of technology, finance, and real estate.  He discusses his thoughts on blockchain technology and its wide applications with Filthy Lucre.

When did you become interested in the blockchain space?  What made you interested?

I became seriously interested in the blockchain space in early 2016.  Like many people, I had heard about Bitcoin back in 2010 and poked around a bit to understand it as an investment and was turned off by the volatility.

However, in early 2016, I decided to take some time to really understand the underpinnings of Bitcoin and that is when things got really interesting, very fast.  The more I understood, I realized that Bitcoin is merely a digital currency and it is the underlying blockchain technology that had the potential for infinite applications and expansion on a scale only rivaled by our Universe.

What do you feel blockchain has affected most so far, and what do you think it will affect most in the future?

I believe that blockchain has affected the financial sector first and foremost.  The advent of Bitcoin and Litecoin quickly caught the attention of payment providers and large financial institutions, as well as governments who recognized the severity of the threat Bitcoin posed to the antiquated systems currently in use.

They quickly invest into blockchain technology to mitigate the risk of lost net revenue hoping to utilize the technology to dramatically cut expenditures, improve efficiency, and hopefully preserve their bottom line.

I believe, if the development community stays true to the purpose of blockchain technology, then the most affected in the future will be those in impoverished areas of the world that currently have limited or no access to goods and services.  These folks will finally gain access to vital goods and services thru smartphones.  They will also have the opportunity to earn currency with their smartphone and contribute to the world economy thereby creating more stability amongst countries and thereby ease financial and health-related rifts.

What are some of the technologies you think will become bigger in the next few years?

Blockchain technology will become most prominent in the sectors of supply chain, smart contracts, financial transactions, healthcare management, royalty rights, and charities because there are ideal candidates to exist on blockchains.

What do you make of the current downtrend in crypto, especially Ether?

The downtrend in the market does not reflect current investments into blockchain technology because the majority of funds are being dumped into non-tokenized projects for the development of intra-blockchains rather than public blockchains that are tokenized.  Also, the trading volume is very low and reflective of speculators attempting to make a quick buck rather than long-term investors that hold the majority of coins and tokens.  As substantive investors re-engage with the market the volume will quickly catapult prices back the prices seen in late 2017, especially Ether and Ether tokens.

What do you think will be the next industries to be disrupted by blockchain?

Dozens of industries are already being disrupted by blockchain.  It’s anyone’s guess if one area will be more pronounced than another, but I doubt that will be the case.

What is it you wish more people understood about blockchain and cryptocurrency?

People need to understand that blockchain technology is not that complicated and they should get involved in any fashion.  If they can understand how a checkbook is used, they can understand the basics of blockchain.  Also, they should view cryptocurrency as ancillary to blockchain and something you purchase if you believe in the underlying blockchain technology.  Last, thru mass adoption of blockchain technology, we have an opportunity to transform the planet on a scale yet to be seen by providing people all over the world with basics such as food, clean water, shelter, energy, goods, and services all within a matter of just a handful of years.

Visit keithherman.com to learn more about Keith Herman and his current projects. You can also connect with him on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter.