The blockchain technology is a decade old now, as it surfaced in the year 2009. From being the technology behind cryptocurrency, it has come a long way to be acclaimed as one of the key innovations for businesses today. There are a lot more applications that are leveraging this amazing technology today and the future looks even more promising.
Blockchain applications are making it big in various verticals, from finance to banking, healthcare, retail, supply chain, and more. Whichever domain your business belongs to, you will definitely have to invest in blockchain development services in the near future. Before you join the bandwagon, here are the blockchain technology trends that you should know about.
Federated blockchain
An upgraded version of the basic model of blockchain, federated blockchain enables greater customizability in private blockchain with a few added features. With the federated model, the blockchain is controlled by multiple authorities rather than a single organization. For example, a group of pre-selected nodes validates the specific blocks to facilitate the processing of the transaction.
Asset tokenization
Emerging as one of the innovative trends in 2019 is asset tokenization, which entails the use of digital tokens for proving the ownership of physical assets. The key objective of this technology is to expedite the process of buying and selling a security. The additional benefits of tokenization include greater liquidity and higher accessibility. These benefits make the tech trend an attractive proposition for businesses.
Stable coins
As cryptocurrencies have always been plagued by the challenge of volatility, the concept of stable coins has emerged as the latest blockchain trend to address it. Essentially, the value of these stable coins is tied with multiple assets such as gold, silver, and even US dollars. For this reason, fluctuations are minimal, unlike cryptocurrencies. Stable coins have emerged as smart blockchain-based investments that have the potential to serve high profits while reducing the risk of volatility.
Hybrid blockchain
One of the most prominent blockchain trends making it big this year is that of hybrid blockchain. As the name implies, hybrid blockchain is a mix that uses the most app parts of the public and private blockchain solutions. With the hybrid approach, transaction costs are considerably reduced while the chances of hacking attacks are reduced to minimal. Hybrid blockchain runs in a closed ecosystem, which ensures that each piece of information on the network remains secure.
Interoperability between blockchain networks
Blockchain interoperability refers to the ability to share information and data across multiple blockchain networks and systems. This renders better visibility and access for users across diverse blockchain networks. Moreover, the users can avail the ease of transacting from one blockchain to another. The development of multi-token wallet systems is another aspect of blockchain interoperability.
Blockchain as a Service (BaaS)
Blockchain as a Service is an offering which can be availed by customers to leverage cloud-based solutions for developing, hosting, and using their blockchain applications, smart contracts, and other blockchain functions. All the activities and tasks are handled by the cloud service provider to keep the infrastructure agile and operational. The trend is already catching up, with some leaders such as Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM offering BaaS for enterprises that want to invest in Blockchain without risking heavy investment needed for in-house development.
Ricardian contracts
Another blockchain trend that has come to the forefront in 2019 is that of Ricardian contracts. These refer to human-readable legal agreements which are agreed and signed by both the parties involved in the contract. Further, the contract is converted into a machine-readable form which defines the intentions of the parties involved. Ricardian contract saves effort and time. At the same time, it is better than a smart contract because it is legally binding which is not the case with the blockchain-based smart contracts.
Over-the-counter trading
Also known as off-Exchange, this is an exchange mechanism that involves trading between the two parties without the supervision of the exchange. Since this form of trading offers several benefits including transparency, liquidity, and maintenance of the present market price, it is being embraced as a trend. Cryptocurrency miners, small asset managers, brokers, and cryptocurrency exchange OTC desks are the key participants in the OTC market.
Convergence with AI
Businesses are fast embracing the powerful combination of Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain. Both the technologies complement each other in more than one way, thus serving applications that are truly valuable. AI renders scalability, security, and efficiency for blockchain. Conversely, blockchain drives greater trust in the machine-to-machine interactions and lowers the risk scenario for AI app adoption.
Impact on social networking
Beyond the business implications of blockchain, technology is having a massive impact on social networking as well. Since it has the potential to address threats related to a privacy violation and notorious scandals, blockchain is poised to make social media safer than ever. Further, its implementation is also smartening up the user experiences with high-end features such as content relevance and data control. In this way, users are able to control what they see and feel more secure as well.
Conclusion
Considering these innovative blockchain technology trends, it can be said that 2019 is a significant period for this technology and its adopters. Therefore, it becomes imperative that you embrace these trends as a part of the blockchain solution you invest in for your business. The best approach would be to partner with a technology partner that has the right skills and experience. Mobibiz is a leading mobile app development company that caters high-end blockchain solutions as well. Connect us and we can help you find the feasibility of adopting a trending blockchain solution for your business. Further, we can also develop one that serves as a long-term asset for your organization.
