Where will Blockchain be 10 years from now?

The Present State of Blockchain Technology

Blockchains are undoubtedly the technological revolution that will take the world by storm this decade. These data structures are built in a way that can potentially solve many of humanity’s most complex digital age problems like waning privacy, an unfair economy, rampant monopolization, and much more. Blockchains are democratic by nature meaning that no one entity can alter the data on a chain if implemented accurately. This has massive consequences for our species as we look towards integrating technology more intimately into our lives over the next decade.

Ten years is a long time in the history of modern technology, and blockchains have been around for only as long. As an increasing number of people realize the potential of this innovation, we are seeing experts around the world engage in creating better and more efficient blockchains to facilitate multiple real-world use cases. The crypto boom has massively expedited this process. Currently, close to $2.4 trillion is invested into cryptocurrencies worldwide, and hundreds of projects are being built to deploy blockchain-oriented services in the real world.

The realization of these efforts is precisely what we can hope to see over the next ten years.

Predictions for the next decade of Blockchains

A decade may be a long time, but that does not stop us from making educated guesses about our future. By analyzing the current trajectory of development and the state of the world, we can speculate about how blockchains will impact our lives over the next ten years and what it would mean for the human race.

Government-backed Cryptos

With the rise of stablecoins, whose value is tied to some real-world asset, the government push for cryptocurrency-based payment methods has already begun. Cash is on the decline in most industrialized countries, with cashless payments exceeding 50% of all transactions. In the wake of this development, the perfect candidate to replace banknotes is cryptocurrencies.

In contrast to conventional fiat currency, cryptos are much more efficient, traceable, and offer reduced settlement times. These advantages are soon going to lead more nations to experiment with government-backed cryptos. A very prominent example of this is Zimbabwe, a country that, following a period of hyperinflation, has now turned to cryptocurrencies for stability. Many individuals in the country are now hedging bitcoin against their national currency.

Now, while some of these government experiments will be successful, others will not. In an effort to push cryptos, many governments will turn to external consultancy bodies for help, which may lead to some high-profile data breaches and hacks over the next decade. In the end, however, successful results will emerge, with the next generation of blockchain technology improving over the present in terms of scalability, transparency, interoperability, and more. Stable tokens, which are regulated by monetary policies and collateral-backed, will rise to prominence in this new world.

A Worldwide Blockchain-based Identification System

By 2030, we can expect to see, if not international, then at least the national editions of blockchain-based identification systems. The reason is that the ID systems we have today are highly non-standardized and lack security. A blockchain-based system will not have these problems as the records will be stored in a decentralized and immutable manner, verified by consensus mechanisms instead of an issuing authority.

According to numerous sources, more than 1.1 billion people, mainly residents of developing countries, lack definite proof of identity. This includes about 65 million refugees. Such disenfranchised individuals will be guaranteed an easy-to-maintain, legal, and globally identifiable way of documentation using a blockchain-based system. Self-sovereignty of individuals will also be guaranteed. This means that people will have much more control over their private and identifiable information and who has access to it.

The future potential of blockchains goes beyond individual verification, though. With the rise of smart contracts and Non-Fungible Tokens, the identification of objects and assets will become much simpler within a decade. Having proof-of-ownership documents immutably stored on a blockchain will make people much more secure about their possessions.

World Trade facilitated by Blockchains

To say that the global supply chain is convoluted is a bit of an understatement. World Trade, as of today, is a chaotic affair with trade relationships being in a constant state of flux due to ever-evolving geopolitical affairs. Most parties involved in global trading are in it for their own profit, and the degree of trust between them is shallow.

It’s no surprise that world trade is an inefficient, slow, and corrupt system. The lack of accountability in the process gives innumerable middlemen a lot of loopholes to make money and pass counterfeit products as originals. While some fake products may be benign, others like counterfeit medicines and medical supplies are serious issues.

Blockchains, due to their transparent nature, can be an absolute game-changer for world trade. Over the next decade, we can expect to see standardized enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems built on blockchains. Payments can be made using cryptocurrencies, which are globally acceptable by nature. Also, implementing accountability within the system will be easy as all trade deals are made into smart contracts and a record of every transaction stored in a decentralized ledger.

Fighting Poverty and Geo-Economic Inequalities

Currently, over 750 million people across the world earn less than $2 per day. Poverty is one of the most challenging problems faced by humanity, and traditional economic methods have failed to provide solutions. However, with blockchains, the world has a fighting chance.

Blockchains can help reduce the poverty gap by facilitating financial inclusivity, reducing corruption, and enable worldwide access to value-generating tokenized assets. Even in its current form, anyone can own a crypto wallet, regardless of whether they have a bank account. This reduces individual dependence on central financial institutions.

In a decade, as bonds of more real-world assets are increasingly getting sold as tokens, people from around the world will then be able to purchase them using cryptocurrencies. That means a person in Nigeria can become part-owner of a US-based hotel franchise in 2030.

Conclusion

The future of blockchains is promising to say the least. As ground-breaking innovations are built on this technology, we can expect radical changes in geopolitics as well as human life within the next decade. Sure, there will be speedbumps along the way, but just like all prior technological revolutions like smartphones or the internet, progress shall prevail.

References

1. BLOCKCHAIN HAS THE POTENTIAL TO FIGHT ROOT CAUSES OF POVERTY https://www.blockchain-council.org/blockchain/blockchain-has-the-potential-to-fight-root-causes-of-poverty/
2. Blockchain in Digital Identity https://consensys.net/blockchain-use-cases/digital-identity/
3. State-Backed Digital Currencies: Why Are World Governments Looking Towards Them? https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/19967/state-backed-digital-currencies-why-are-world-governments-looking-towards-them
4. Blockchain for Global Trade and Commerce https://consensys.net/blockchain-use-cases/global-trade-and-commerce/

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