Tales From the Crypto: The Wild World of Travel Blockchain Startups

Sure, you've probably heard of Bitcoin or Etherium. There's also a good chance you've heard of Ripple or Litecoin, if you've been reading the news the lately. People around the world are becoming newly minted millionaires, and the cryptocurrency craze is in full swing. There are coins and tokens aiming to revolutionize almost every industry, and travel is no exception. Could Travelcoin, OjutCoin, TravelChain, PallyCoin, or Lockchain redefine the travel industry? Well, no. They could make their creators rich, of course, if enough people who don't understand the travel industry decide to invest. As cryptocurrency mania has hit the mainstream, the travel industry has been a target for companies launching initial coin offerings and blockchain solutions. A recent Skift Research survey of startups found that the travel industry is caught up in this exuberance, as well; respondents cited blockchain or distributed ledger technology as the biggest innovation happening in travel, as well as the second most likely technology to change travel (just trailing artificial intelligence). Winding Tree, the most legitimate of the current travel blockchain players, is slated to begin its token sale on February 1 after spending the last few years getting ready and forming partnerships with airlines like Lufthansa. “A lot of people are asking me whether the online booking sites or GDSs [global distribution systems] have to go, and the answer is no,” said Maksim Izmaylov, a co-founder of Winding Tree, last summer when we looked into the sources of disruption challenging the deeply entrenched players in the travel industry. “They don’t have to. What has to go is the rent-seeking business models, the abuse of power that they’re exercising and tha