Blockchain: Is it a hoax?  131

• Blockchain projects can also fail drastically due to the skill gap in

the technical team. Launching a blockchain product without going

through a thorough review of the software code (website, exchange,

smart contract, mobile app, token, coin, etc.) can lead to a major hack

that can demolish the brand, lose money and court cases against the

company.

• Companies need to continuously review the external factors that can

influence their projects like legal and regulatory frameworks and their

implications. Companies also need to assess the future viability of

blockchain ecosystems they have selected to participate in. Projects

can have a drastic negative impact in the future if external factors are

ignored.

SUMMARY

Although there has been a lot of publicity for blockchain footprint and use

cases, the POC fails quite frequently due to the various reasons highlighted

in this chapter. Businesses and customers need to be extra vigilant before

putting their time, resources and money on the blockchain.

There have been multiple cryptocurrencies and ICO scams/failure in

the past decade, but there have also been many successful ICOs that has

led to some of the major successful ecosystems of blockchain projects like

Ethereum. Blockchain projects have been filed due to education and regula-

tory gaps in society. There have been multiple ICO and crypto scams due

to people’s greed to become rich overnight and putting their money on the

ICO or cryptocurrencies without carrying out due diligence.

Figure 4.5  Bitcoin electricity consumption index. (The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Index

from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. Dated: 19 Nov 2022.)

Reprinted from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance with permission.