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• April 23, 2021
• By Joshua Reid
• Blockchain Technology , COVID-19 , Technology
• blockchain , blockchain network , blockchain networks , blockchain technology , coronavirus , covid , covid 19 , covid-19

What is the Future of Blockchain Technology?

When COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill last year, companies were forced online. This forced many businesses, including those that deal with data analytics like blockchain technology to figure out how they were going to manage their data and retain communication with their clients and organizations. Adapting to the online platform however, could be what forces many companies to consider blockchain technology as a future solution in the aftermath of the pandemic.

What effects will blockchain technology have on companies in the future?

In an article earlier this year titled “The Future Of Blockchain Technology: 10 Predictions For 2021,” writer Amit Khirale notes that the future of blockchain technology really lies in its ability to provide a “lightning-fast alternative that has established cross-border payment methods for all business types.” This allows companies to utilize cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, NEO, Etherium and EOS, which are becoming popular forms of currency for blockchain technology. 

One area that Khirale notes that blockchain technology is influencing is in the field of cybersecurity. According to Amit, as 2021 continues, there will likely be increasing threats against data security in businesses. “Such attacks can be prevented using Blockchain technology. Blockchain technology can help by allowing data to remain secure to allow active participants to verify every transaction’s authenticity” (Khirale). 

Khirale notes that in 2020, “The pandemic acted as a catalyst and accelerated the move of the sales and marketing industry towards digital across the market.” Now in 2021, cryptocurrencies are becoming more mainstream. Through verifying each transaction’s authenticity, not only will the company or organizations handling the blockchain tech be secured in knowing that their data is “locked in” but clients who have invested in the company will have the same security. 

Although many people may not agree that the pandemic catalyzed the movement to cryptocurrencies, from an economic and business standpoint however, it does make sense. While the pandemic has been terrible, curtailing many activities that people wanted to do and causing widespread death, the economic state of the world itself has had unexpected time to pause and reflect, and to begin moving towards complete digitization wherever possible. 

Khirale posits several trends for blockchain technology going forward, including:

1. Cryptocurrencies may reach new heights.
2. Law integration into smart contracts will allow the execution of goods when the specific conditions are met.
3. Long-term strategic projects might be put on hold. 
4. The banking and financial sector will further dominate the market.
5. 30 percent of global projects will make it to production.
6. Social commerce and influencer marketing, where brands who didn’t digitize their options in order to bring in clients, would be compelled to due to COVID.

Although the trends posited by Amit Khirale sound great and look to further develop the economy into 2021, with the COVID-19 pandemic still a problem, how many of these trends are actually probable?

An article on LinkedIn titled “The Six Biggest Blockchain Trends Everyone Should Know About In 2021” acknowledges the benefits of blockchain technology on data infrastructure and its use of encryptions to help keep data secure. The author, Bernard Marr,  also recognizes what this technology can do for vaccine distribution. He notes that with governments around the world struggling to distribute the vaccine to their people, and the limited supply of said vaccine, blockchain technology could be useful.

“Over the next year, we are likely to see blockchain used to track vaccines from the point of manufacture to the patient. At every step of the journey, it can be used to create a permanent and non-falsifiable record of where each batch was at any given time. To do this at the speed required for vaccination to be effective across the entire world means processes must be developed for demand forecasting, supply chain management, and authentication,” Bernard Marr writes.

This is only one way that blockchain technology can be used. Outside of vaccine distribution, Bernard Marr also notes the potential future of blockchain technology in several different trends, including enterprise blockchain, the rise of New Technology File Systems or NTFs, and blockchain as a service, similar to Amazon and Microsoft. The rise of enterprise blockchain, Bernard notes, is different from other forms of blockchain technology in that a single “owner” (i.e. company) has control over the deployments and cost of a product.

“While cryptocurrencies have proven robustness (it doesn’t appear that any has ever been successfully hacked or cracked), businesses around the world are busy proving it can also drive efficiency and reduce costs across everyday operations” (Marr).

Whatever the future holds regarding blockchain technology, the trends outlined through these articles would be a great start for future entrepreneurs and even those mildly interested in capitalizing on these potential future trends now.

Bibliography

Khirale, Amit. “The Future Of Blockchain Technology: 10 Predictions For 2021.” Angular Minds, https://www.angularminds.com/blog/article/future-of-blockchain-technology.html. Accessed 22 March 2021.

Marr, Bernard. “The Six Biggest Blockchain Trends Everyone Should Know About In 2021.” LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/six-biggest-blockchain-trends-everyone-should-know-2021-bernard-marr. Accessed 25 March 2021.