Current trends in blockchain technology

Once a bold experiment, blockchain has evolved into a revolutionary technology, maturing over the decade, and thereby penetrating almost every business. It provides a competitive edge to the investors and businesses who tend to follow its pace.

After managing its success in the form of Bitcoin, it meandered its disruption in finance, healthcare, supply chain, and legal services. Its latest uprisings- NFTs, Blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS), asset tokenization, and digital entities are taking the markets by the storm. Let’s read about blockchain’s recent updates in detail according to crypto online academy Learn trading.

Federalized blockchains

This is an updated version of the traditional decentralized blockchain. Instead of being operated by one organization, multiple consortium members manage the features of the blockchain. This distributes the power amongst multiple decision-makers. This enables a convenient collaboration, securing the chain under the supervision of many nodes simultaneously. Some of the established examples of federated blockchains are- Hyperledger, Corda, and Quorum.

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Dominating stable coins

The extremely volatile nature of the top cryptocurrencies led to the upcoming of such blockchain-based coins whose value is pegged at 1:1 ratio to the fiat currencies. They can also be backed by commodities like gold or oil. Stablecoins are gaining popularity owing to their combined advantages of the crypto and fiat currencies- convenient transfer and reduced volatility. Tether, Binance USD, and Terra USD are some of the top stablecoins investors are banking upon. Stablecoins have become a rising star in crypto exchange and trading apps like Bitcoin circuit.

Transforming social networking

According to statistical data, about 57% of the global demographic (4.48 billion) is actively involved in social media networks. The available networking platforms are centralized, i.e. they store, censor, and share our data, compromising the user security in case of a breach. Blockchain-powered solutions address these pressing concerns, tracking the flow of information, capitalizing the work and content, and getting rid of the perturbing ads. Steemit (decentralized blogging platform) and Minds (social media platform) are exemplary solutions.

Interoperability over the blockchain network

Giving the users the ability to make cross-network transactions and exchange information is another feather in the cap of the advancing blockchain technology. This has considerably enhanced the transaction speed while overcoming the need for any additional processing fees. Some of the successful examples are- Echo, Cosmos, Polkadot, Blocknet, and Wanchain where data from the existing blockchains can be easily transferred to another specific EOS blockchain.

Realizing ESG goals

Achieving global targets of environmental, social and governance goals is another adoption trend of blockchain technology. Trading electricity by the producers without the involvement of intermediaries, running recycling programs, simplifying supply chain management, improving traceability, assisting the reduction of carbon emissions are the latest possibilities realized through blockchain involvement. For instance, SunContract is a P2P energy trading system that offers the customers to buy and sell renewable energy solutions without any intermediaries. Similarly, Plastic Bank Project sets up collection centers in developing countries that can collect and donate plastic in return for services and necessary items using blockchain technology. Energy Blockchain Lab and IBM is a Beijing-based company the have created a blockchain platform for monitoring the emissions in China. This is expected to improve the carbon footprint by 20-50%.

Safer streaming content

The creative world is witnessing a paradigm shift using blockchain-powered solutions. Availability of content across borders, and accessibility to creative showcase without the involvement of third-party is the added advantage of blockchain technology. Livepeer is an Ethereum powered video streaming platform to create live videos, reducing the infrastructure and streaming costs. Theta and Videocon are other such examples.

Rising interest in CBDC

Central Bank Digital Currency has been a proposal for a decade now that is in its infant stages now. This is the realization of fiat currency into its digital form, powered by blockchain. Thus, it is regulated and backed by a central authority. Pilot-scale plans have been launched and researched upon by the counties like England, China, Canada, Sweden, Uruguay, India, Thailand, and Singapore.

Conclusion

The coming years are going to be quite significant with emerging technological advancements over the blockchain. It is likely to impact almost all the verticals of commerce in amazingly newer ways.