As 2018 moves closer towards its end, investors, developers, and tech enthusiasts are starting to turn their gaze towards the future. 2019 is less than two months away, and it promises new breakthroughs and large changes. This is especially true when it comes to blockchain technology.
While 2018 was an important year for this technology’s development, many are wondering what awaits us in the near future. Because of this, we have created a list of 6 predictions regarding the blockchain, as well as what might happen to it in 2019. Let’s begin.
1. Search for new and better business use cases
Blockchain technology is wrongly seen by many as a magical way to resolve all issues that we struggle with today. However, while it is true that blockchain can help with a lot of them, there are still numerous other problems that are better suited to be solved by alternative technologies. Robotics, AI, and similar technologies are not to be discarded in blind faith in the blockchain.
Researchers and developers have recognized this, which is why 2019 will be dedicated to finding specific use cases for blockchain technology. Blockchain will be used in situations where it can have the strongest positive impact. In other words, the goal is not to find places where this tech can fit, but to find places where it is the best fit.
2. Fixing blockchain industry’s image
For a lot of people, blockchain and crypto are two terms that go hand in hand. While it is true that blockchain was created to support crypto, and that cryptos cannot function without the blockchain, the opposite is not true. In fact, blockchain technology can have numerous use cases that are completely unrelated to cryptocurrencies.
Despite the fact that blockchain was invented to serve crypto, it managed to outgrow it relatively quickly. Today, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are only one of blockchain’s many current and future applications.
Now, considering that cryptos have historically used by criminals, and only recently did they receive somewhat decent regulation in some parts of the world, they still have quite a bad reputation to them. The reputation that, unfortunately, reflects on blockchain as well.
This is another issue that is to be addressed in 2019, which is the year when the blockchain industry will try to work on its image, and separate blockchain from crypto in the minds of others. It is believed that a lot of businesses are actually skeptical of blockchain and unwilling to adopt it just because of its connection to crypto. These are the businesses that do not understand the difference between the two and do not know that they don’t necessarily come together Once this becomes clear to more people, blockchain will be able to experience much wider adoption.
3. Shifting away from “blockchain” to “distributed ledger technology”
As we all know, language can be quite important when it comes to attitude towards something. The term “blockchain” has an entire set of issues which are believed to be one of the causes for its slow adoption and development. Not only is the term connected to the crypto industry, but it is also somewhat abstract.
It is because of this that a lot of researchers believe that another term should replace it, and this will likely be “distributed ledger technology”, or DLT. DLT is a much more neutral term, which will separate this technology from crypto, ICOs, and everything else that investors and developers find untrustworthy.
4. Blockchain will strongly connect with IoT
IoT devices have been around for some time now, and they managed to establish themselves as individual devices rather well. However, when combined, they can achieve some completely new use cases, which is why researchers expect that they will increasingly converge with new technologies. This will include things such as AI, machine learning, fog computing, as well as blockchain technology.
That way, companies will be able to move forward and create completely new business models, as well as revenue streams. Entirely new marketplaces are expected to appear as a result, Simply put, companies will be able to obtain much greater value from their investments in IoT, as well as drive broader adoption.
5. High demand for blockchain experts
As blockchain technology clears its name and becomes more popular and widely applied, companies are expected to finally get over their fears of it and start applying it. As a result, there will be a high demand for blockchain experts. This technology will be mostly unknown to most businesses, and demand for experts can already be seen at freelancer websites such as Upwork. More and more people with blockchain skills are being required, and since the technology is new, blockchain engineers are few in number.
Entering the industry now and gaining experience will likely serve new developers rather well in 2019 and later in the future.
6. Government agencies will start adopting blockchain
While this seems like something that likely won’t come for years, many believe that the process might actually begin in 2019. Blockchain technology does have its fair share of use cases, with new ones being discovered all the time. And, while blockchain is currently mostly doing things that older systems can do as well, it does these things faster, better, and usually cheaper as well.
It clearly has potential, which is why the government won’t wait long before it starts using it for its own purposes. The blockchain is especially attractive to authorities due to the fact that it can hold large quantities of data which is then available from anywhere in the world at any time, while the system is mostly hack-proof. While this would be a very useful change, it will still be a big difference from what the government is used to, which is likely one of only a few reasons why they are not adopting this technology right now.
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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency and read our full disclaimer.
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