Behind the scenes of the region's robust cryptocurrency scene

History is loaded with “that will never work” manifestos and declarations.

The co-founder of Netflix, Marc Randolph, wrote a book with just that title, telling the story of a how a DVD-through-the-mail startup disrupted, then conquered, a multibillion-dollar segment of the entertainment industry. Other examples can be found across time, in some of the world’s most significant transportation, medical and technological transformations.

For some, the world of cryptocurrencies, blockchains, non-fungible tokens, the metaverse and more, wrapped around a new version of the Internet known as Web3 or Web 3.0, is a short car ride from “that will never work” land. It follows, then, that the knee-jerk response to advances and breakthroughs in crypto are often met with a ‘why would need that?’ shrug. The recent and painful bitcoin market slide only provides more fuel for those doubters.

Yet even with all the reasons to be cynical, the business opportunities in this world, what the Business Observer calls the crypto-verse, are tough to ignore. There are untapped revenue streams in a wide assortment of industries and sectors that crypto non-believers could miss out on. This Business Observer special issue, a deep dive into the crypto-verse, covers many of those opportunities, from NFT startups monetizing classic Hollywood movies to new ways to market and sell real estate.

We hope you discover some new methods of using cryptocurrency through these stories, or, at least, if not, say maybe all this crypto-verse stuff can really work.   

• Crypto curious: Academics, bankers, entrepreneurs look to the future of money
• Florida readies itself for a crypto real estate wave
• Technology challenges how we think about property transactions
• Time to get smart about financial technology — and how to regulate the $10 trillion market