Blockchain technology is the backbone of bitcoin. If you’re still unsure about what exactly blockchain is, it’s like a digital ledger of transactions, deals and contracts represented in the form of digital asset. Everyone owns this ledger, and everyone contributes to it. Blockchain is a foundational technology with the potential to create new foundations for our economic and social systems. Soon, the finance industry could be dominated by blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
Right now, blockchain is still in the very early stages of its development. Think of it in terms of the dot-com bubble of the 1990s. It’s currently at the beginning of the boom but is still missing some critical components needed for it to really explode and take off, such as key infrastructure and tooling to build applications. If these needs aren’t addressed, it could lead the blockchain boom to burst, just like the dot-com bubble did.
But, blockchain holds a lot of promise, which may accelerate its adoption. Enterprises are excited about its potential and many, like IBM, are taking over leadership in the space. The three factors that are accelerating the adoption of this technology are data resiliency, transparency and new business models.
On the opposite hand, speculation, stage of development and unproven value are all factors that are preventing some companies from utilizing blockchain. But, that isn’t stopping hundreds of companies from doing interesting things in the space, like Ethereum, Ripple and Circle.
Blockchain will disrupt many industries. The top three sectors that are most susceptible to this are financial transactions, micro-payments and banking. Because blockchain provides a secure way to send digital assets without a third-party, it eliminates the need for a bank. Blockchain could make it possible to facilitate faster payments between parties at a lower fee than a bank could offer.
While blockchain hasn’t changed the world yet, it holds a lot of potential to completely change the way many major industries operate.