By Jessica Salerno, OSCPA senior content manager

It’s no longer acceptable to shrug your shoulders at blockchain technology. The time has come to understand how it can impact your business.

“I fully expect it to grow in 2019,” said Sean Stein Smith, CPA. “There is a growing mindset that blockchain is good and has a lot of upsides to it, but now the focus is on actually making a real business use case for it. So, the conversation is changing from an understanding of it on a high level to showing how it is being used in the business to add value.”

Smith, an assistant professor at Lehman College in New York City who also serves on the Advisory Board of the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance, discussed how businesses can best position themselves for this technology on this week’s episode of the State of Business podcast.

He covered the evolution of blockchain in the past 18 months and credited the interest in blockchain to the rise of bitcoin in 2017. As bitcoin gained popularity, so did other cryptocurrencies.

“In 2018, the word ‘blockchain’ is so hyped up,” Smith said. “Everyone is interested in it and it’s a new technology. Probably the top error I’ve seen and heard about is that firms are diving into it headfirst without first doing their homework.”

Smith said it’s important to remember that everyone in the blockchain space is relatively new, so approaching it with little prior knowledge shouldn’t be a barrier to implementation. There are numerous resources available for those interested in learning more, especially as more firms began to integrate it into their business model.

Listen to the entire episode here for more information on what guidance to expect on blockchain in 2019, or click here for past podcast episodes.