Matthew GriffinFounder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
G7 · G20governments advised
850+keynotes
102countries
17codexes
Finance and banking sessions forAfricaONEShawbrook BankStandard Chartered BankThe Institute of Internal AuditorsWolters KluwerCrown Prince Court
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Michael Caselli, Editor in Chief of iGaming Business, and his team invited Matthew to kick off the four day iGaming Super Show at the Amsterdam RAI, the city's largest event space. The show drew over 6,500 delegates from more than a hundred countries, with the major gaming and payment companies represented, from 888.com, Bet365 and Betfair to Ladbrokes, NetBet and William Hill.
Other industries constantly look over the fence at gaming's rate of innovation and technology adoption, and Matthew sees why. Whether it is gamifying cyber security with virtual reality worlds, the shopping experience or personal finance management platforms, he believes other sectors can still learn a trick or ten from an industry that tears down and reinvents the status quo daily. The show itself was awash with AI, augmented reality, blockchain and virtual reality, and the words "Bitcoin", "decentralised" and "world's first" came up constantly.
"Other industries could still learn a trick or ten from the guys whose sole purpose in life seems to be to tear down and re-invent the status quo on a daily basis."Matthew Griffin, Amsterdam, July 2017
Yet like every other industry, gaming runs on money, and that was Matthew's brief. He opened with a question: what do bitcoin, cows, metal shapes, salt and shells have in common? All of them have, at one point, been money. In just under an hour he and the audience covered over 4,000 years of history and forecasting, from cows as the prime currency through to the digital, decentralised monies of 2050 and beyond, along with the future of automation, connectivity, digital IDs and payments.
In the Q&A the discussion went further, into how to create your own cryptocurrency, how to build its value, and the regulation that surrounds it.
311 Intelligence
What this means for your leadership team
Money is changing form again.
The keynote showed that cows, metal shapes, salt and shells have all served as money. Bitcoin is the latest entry, not the last. Leaders should treat today's payment rails as one stage in a long run of change.
Decentralised systems are maturing.
Blockchain began as a shared online record book, with a first product in 2009 and wide use expected by 2032. Decentralised finance is rebuilding lending and trading as code, and regulators are moving in. The Q&A on value and regulation points to the same pressure.
Rules and rivals are both shifting.
Nearly every central bank is exploring a digital currency, with the digital euro aiming for 2029. Automation is also pressing on work, with wide use expected by 2027. Gaming is the sector others watch for how fast it adopts new technology.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
Which of our payment assumptions would fail if money changed form?
Who in our business owns the regulatory risk of digital currencies?
What can we learn from sectors that reinvent themselves daily?
The trends and technologies behind this session
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
It argues that money has taken many forms over 4,000 years and will keep doing so. Organisations should plan for digital, decentralised money, new rules, and automation of payments and identity.
How does blockchain relate to the future of money?
Blockchain is a shared online record book, and it underpins the bitcoin and decentralised themes raised in the session. Its first product came in 2009. Wide use is expected around 2032, so 311 advises exploring it now.
How does decentralised finance relate to this session?
The session covered decentralised monies and how to create and value a cryptocurrency. Decentralised finance is the wider shift of lending and trading into code. Regulators are moving in, which echoes the Q&A on regulation.
How can 311 brief our leadership team on this?
311 offers a private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector. It is delivered in person first.
Bring this to your leadership teamA private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector. In person first, anywhere in the world.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s session and 311 data.
If Matthew gave this session today
Simulations are becoming people's new reality.
The Future of Gaming explores what happens when simulations become people's new reality, the immersive worlds this iGaming audience was already building their business on.
