Bitcoin is often called “the most disruptive technology on the planet”. Now with the steady comeback of Bitcoin, why not keep with the trend of disrupting the status quo, and spend your BTC on some more ‘disruptive technologies’?
A disruptive technology is defined as “an innovation that creates a new market and value network and eventually disrupts an existing market and value network, displacing established market leaders and alliances.”
We looked at a number of innovative products that can be called “disruptive innovations”, all of which can be purchased via the disruptive technology that is Bitcoin, following Shopify’s partnership with Coinbase. In addition, all other companies that use the e-commerce platform to sell online can accept Bitcoin payments through the Coinbase integration.
Boosted Boards
By far my favourite on the list, Boosted Boards, are a line of electric longboards that represent a disruption in the way we transport ourselves.
It’s one of the world’s lightest electric vehicles, and each board has an onboard battery that allows you to travel for between 7 and 14 miles on one charge. The Dual+ board has a top speed of 22mph, can climb hills with a grade of 25%, and all boards have braking built-in.
Soylent
Soylent represents a disruption in the fundamental process of nutrition. It comes in both drink and mix-with-water powder form.
Essentially, it is a simple, nutritious, and affordable food that possesses nutrients the body needs to be healthy.
It allows for a far greater independence in that you can stay healthy by relying on the drink, and also offers serious affordability.
Leap Motion
Leap Motion could become a disruptive technology in almost every aspect of the creative technological space in the future, from gaming to design and music.
It uses a combination of a hardware controller that can be plugged into a computer, or into any VR headset, and software installed on your device to allow you to interact hands-free.
What I find really interesting about Leap Motion is that it represents a true bridging of humans and technology.
The problem of identifying a disruptive innovation
The theory of disruptive innovation has proved to be a powerful way of thinking about innovation-driven growth.
However, Clayton M. Christensen, Michael E. Raynor and Rory McDonald argue in their study “What is disruptive innovation?” that the problem with conflating a disruptive innovation with any breakthrough that changes an industry’s competitive patterns is that different types of innovation require different strategic approaches.
They write in the article for Harvard Business Review:
“To put it another way, the lessons we’ve learned about succeeding as a disruptive innovator (or defending against a disruptive challenger) will not apply to every company in a shifting market.”
For example, Uber’s financial and strategic achievements do not qualify the company as genuinely disruptive—although the company is almost always described that way.
Although, Bitcoin still does. As Dominic Frisby, Virgin Entrepreneur and the author of “Bitcoin: the Future of Money?”, put it, Bitcoin “will do to finance what email did to the postal service and what the internet did to publishing. It will disrupt aging monopolies and open up new opportunities.”
Frisby says to CCN.LA:
“The breakthrough of Bitcoin is that, suddenly, you can send something digital to somebody else, just as I can hand you a DVD or ten dollar bill if you are standing next to me, without the need for any kind of middleman. It sounds simple enough, but it is a huge breakthrough – and it has huge implications for privacy and for efficiency.”