It’s shaping up to be a “Black August” for the digital token world. The cyptocurrency market lost $43 billion over five days this month. Is it time to panic?

“The insiders are somewhat scared or saying they’ve seen this movie before,” said John Furrier, co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during this week’s Global Cloud and Blockchain Summit in Toronto, Ontario. “There’s this long game going on and also money being lost.”

Furrier was joined at the conference by co-host Dave Vellante, and they discussed how the emergence of digital services will usher blockchain adoption in the enterprise, the impact of government regulation, and predictions around the future role for distributed ledger technology.

Cloud and blockchain seen as complementary

Recent volatility in the cryptocurrency market has brought added scrutiny to the blockchain and its potential to become a key element in enterprise operations. Vellante saw cloud computing and blockchain as complementary, not on a collision course.

“What we’re seeing now is this ubiquitous set of digital services of which blockchain is one,” Vellante said. “Everything is digital, which means data, and you need machine intelligence for automation. That is the new era that we’re entering, and blockchain is playing a big part of that because of its inherent encryption, immutability and the ability to show proof of work.”

One factor that could be affecting cryptocurrency value is uncertainty surrounding government action in the market. Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission delivered a lifetime ban and levied a fine against cryptocurrency startup Tomahawk over its crowdfunded marketing campaign.

“The SEC is shutting down everything right now with the threat of subpoenas,” Furrier said. “The problem with the U.S. government today is they are meddling in areas they actually shouldn’t be playing in.”

Both analysts took the opportunity to make predictions about the future of the blockchain. “I think you’re going to see an exact movement that the cloud market took,” said Furrier, who foresaw a progression from public blockchain to private and then a hybrid model. “The hybrid will look like multichain solutions.”

Like cloud computing, the blockchain will likely emerge as a key tool within the enterprise infrastructure. “Blockchain in the enterprise will become a visible component of every industry,” Vellante said. “You won’t even see it. It’s just going to become a fundamental part of how we do business.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s weeklong coverage of the Global Cloud and Blockchain Summit:

Photo: SiliconANGLE