In 2014 I was working heavily on multi-signature escrow solutions around Bitcoin specifically targeted at high priced transactions. The idea being that escrow is generally expensive and multi-signature Bitcoin transactions could speed that process up along with cutting cost. The problem we quickly ran into was the Bitcoin price volatility.
BITCOIN HAS CONTINUED TO BE EXTREMELY VOLATILE
Likewise, so have other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum. In 2017, the discussion around cryptocurrency is much more focused on smart contracts. More than escrow, smart contracts are the place this problem rears its head again. A simple example: Say I want to lock away money in a trust fund for my kids. I can do it with an extremely simple smart contract. Those Bitcoins however, will almost certainly hold a very different value in 10 years. In other words, any smart contract gives me access to programmable money in a new way, but requires me to bet on that cryptocurrency as well.
This in general strikes me as a place where cryptocurrency fails at mainstream adoption. Speeding up escrow for a real estate purchase is an extremely beneficial advance that cryptocurrency can provide. In order to do this, the parties in the transaction also need to accept the volatile value of the cryptocurrency. There is a large risk and gamble involved which is completely opposite to how someone feels when using US Dollars for escrow.
ANNOUNCING VZERO FRAMEWORK
Vzero Framework is a whitepaper concept around how we eliminate this cryptocurrency volatility issue long term so we can remove this barrier to adoption. Please note, this is not an ICO precursor. I’m not soliciting funds in any way. I’m simply releasing this information into the world to share and gain valuable feedback so we can all find the best road forward.