Speaking to CNBC during a panel discussion in Davos, Phil Chen, decentralized chief officer at HTC suggested that blockchain technology could potentially take some power away from large tech firms.
Rebeca Hwang, co-founder, and MD of Rivet Ventures said that Facebook is the most vulnerable to disruption out of all the big tech firms.
Is Big Tech Too Big for Disruption?
During the panel discussion, the participants talked about the probability of big tech companies facing disruption.
According to Hwang, Facebook is most at risk when it comes to disruption among these companies.
The company had a rough 2018, following data leaks, scandals around privacy and allegations that the platform was used by foreign powers to influence the Presidential elections in the US.
Hwang said, “I do think Facebook is in a very vulnerable place right now,” adding that the company has to take strong actions to maintain their position in the market.
“I don’t necessarily see a future where all of these giants will continue dominating forever. I think there will be disruptors in some of these areas by new players.”
Could Blockchain Bring That Disruption?
HTC’s Phil Chen, who is also the managing director at VC firm Presence Capital said that blockchain has the potential to take away some power from big tech.
Companies like Facebook hold users data in centralized databases, but with blockchain, those databases could be decentralized, giving users ownership of their data.
Chen described it further, saying:
“That’s the hope, that’s the thesis. At the end of the day today, the big corporates, they have big central servers that hold everybody’s data. I think what bitcoin and blockchain really allows … is empowering people to own their own keys,”
These keys, which are unique cryptographic addresses, are what allow people to own their own cryptocurrencies. And also, are what Chen believes could be used to give people ownership of data.
He added:
“Once you start owning your own keys, which is the means in which you own the cryptocurrency, then you start owning your identity, then you start owning your data, and that needs the whole crowd and the people to participate.”
