On September 7, 2016, something quite remarkable happened…
A hundred thousand dollars’ worth of butter and cheese was financed, its quality verified, and then sold between Irish food company Ornua and the Seychelles Trading Company.
You might think a $100,000 trade is no big deal. And I wouldn’t blame you. It’s barely a speck in the annual $2 trillion trade finance market.
But the way this trade was done will forever change the accounting system of global trade…
And that’s a big deal, because early investors in this new technology have already made a fortune. The good news is it’s just getting started. And that means there’s a lot more money still to be made.
I’ll explain more in a moment – but let’s get back to this butter and cheese deal first…
In trade finance deals, banks provide the funding that lubricates the wheels of global trade.
But to fund a cross-border trade deal, inspectors have to sign off on the quality of what’s being sold. And other inspectors have to make sure the product is owned by the person trying to sell it.
This results in a forest of paperwork getting FedExed across oceans. It’s an archaic, time-consuming process that takes as much as 10 days.
On September 7, 2016, Barclays Bank closed the entire butter and cheese trade in just four hours.
It used a technology that I believe will be the No. 1 wealth builder of this decade.
I call it “genesis” technology. Its more common name is blockchain technology…
Why the Blockchain Will Change Everything
The blockchain is designed in a way that makes it tamperproof. No one can go back and change the data in a blockchain the way they can in a centralized computer and paper-based system.
Every step of the transaction process on a blockchain is tied to a specific individual who is held accountable by computer code.
Blockchains are designed to operate without the need of a central, trusted third party. That feature, along with the tamperproof nature of a blockchain, makes it revolutionary.
If you’re new to blockchain technology, don’t worry. Here is a short primer on how it works…
Imagine an exceptionally secure Excel spreadsheet the entire world can view…
Anyone can enter data into the spreadsheet. But before the spreadsheet can store the data, a majority of other people in the network have to agree it’s true.
When it’s confirmed, the data is locked. No one can change, manipulate, copy, or erase it. So it leaves a perfect audit trail.
All of this is done digitally and automatically using computer code. And it’s secured using state-of-the-art cryptography. That means, you don’t need a trustworthy middleman to confirm any transactions. The code handles everything.
That’s the power of blockchain.
Said another way, it’s a digital ledger available to everybody. And it has a built-in electronic recordkeeping system for all transactions. So it doesn’t require any third-party verification.
Know This: Blockchain Is the Future
You don’t need to know all the technical details about blockchain tech… Just like you don’t need to know how the internet works to profit from tech stocks. All you need to know is: It’s a game changer.
Trade finance is just one small application of blockchain technology. There are many others that will be disrupted by blockchain.
One of the most immediate areas is in digital payments.
Right now, sending money around the world is slow and expensive. Consumers sending money overseas get clipped on fees they see and fees they don’t see (like foreign exchange spreads that can have them losing 3–12% of every dollar they send).
Blockchain can virtually eliminate those fees. For instance, in April 2020, leading crypto exchange Bitfinex processed a single $1.1 billion bitcoin transaction almost instantaneously for 68 cents in fees.
In the banking industry alone, Bitpress.com & DMR Business Statistics project blockchain tech will cut expenses by 30%. They estimate the industry can save up to $12 billion per year.
Even mangos are finding their way onto the blockchain. In 2018, Walmart tested a blockchain platform to trace mangos to the farm where they were grown on. Under its old system, it took a week to track the fruit. With blockchain, it took 2.2 seconds.
IBM Food Trust, a blockchain-based food tracking system, has over 80 major brands in its customer network. Juniper Research estimates blockchain will save $31 billion in food fraud by 2024.
My point is, we’re at the very beginning of a blockchain megatrend that’ll make early investors rich the way stocks like Apple, Facebook, and Google have.
Here’s What to Do Next
If you’ve been following me since the start of 2020, you know blockchain is my No. 1 investment idea of the decade.
One way to play this trend is to buy either bitcoin or ether (the token of the Ethereum network). These two cryptos will give you exposure to numerous blockchain projects. And they’ll increase in value as blockchain tech takes off.
But I’ve also uncovered a new idea that’ll give you broad exposure to the blockchain tech without the volatility of cryptos.
In just 16 months, this idea has already tripled the S&P 500’s returns. Those are huge returns… and my research tells me it’s just getting started.
Over the next decade, I think you’ll make 4x–17x your money on this one investment. That’s enough to turn a modest $5,000 investment into $20,000–$85,000, and a $10,000 investment into $40,000–$170,000.
My paid-up Palm Beach Letter subscribers can read about this new idea in my July issue right here.
If you’re not a PBL subscriber, you can click here to learn why I call blockchain tech the No. 1 Investment of the Decade.
I believe blockchain will have a greater impact on everyday life this decade than the internet does today. It’ll touch nearly everything we do.
Let the Game Come to You!
Teeka Tiwari
Editor, Palm Beach Daily