9 trends that will dominate blockchain technology in 2023
Blockchain technology is set to revolutionize the operations and processes of many industries, including government agencies.
The adoption of blockchain requires time and effort, in addition, it will stimulate people to acquire new skills, and traditional businesses will have to completely rethink their processes in order to reap the maximum benefit from using this promising technology.
The following 9 trends will dominate blockchain technology in 2023:
1. Blockchain 4.0
Blockchain 4.0 is focused on innovation. Speed, user experience and ease of use of a larger and common mass will be the most important focus areas for blockchain 4.0. We can divide Blockchain 4.0 applications into two verticals:
• Web 3.0
• Metaverse
Web 3.0
The global financial crisis of 2008 exposed the cracks in centralized control, paving the way for decentralization. The world needs Web 3.0 – a user-overwhelming platform. Because Web 3.0 aims to create an autonomous, open and intelligent internet, it will rely on decentralized protocols, which blockchain can provide.
There are already some third-generation blockchains designed to support web 3.0, but with the rise of Blockchain 4.0, we can expect the emergence of more web 3.0-focused blockchains that will have seamless interoperability, automation through smart contracts, seamless integration, and censorship-proof P2P storage – data files.
Metaverse
The dream projects of tech giants like Facebook, Microsoft, Nvidia and many more, Metaverses, are the next big thing for us to experience in the next few years. We are connected to virtual worlds across various touch points such as social engagement, gaming, work, networking and many more. Metaverse will make these experiences more vivid and natural.
Advanced AI, IoT, AR & VR, Cloud computing and Blockchain technologies will come into play to create virtual reality spaces of metaverse, where users will interact with a computer generated environment and other users through realistic experiences.
Centralized Metaverse implies more intense user engagements, deeper use of internet services and more disclosure of users’ personal data. All of these almost likely mean higher exposure to cybercrime. Giving power to centralized bodies to regulate, control and distribute users’ data is not a sustainable setup for the future of the Metaverse. Therefore, great emphasis has been placed on developing decentralized Metaverse platforms that will provide user autonomy. Decentraland, Axie Infinity and Starl, these are all decentralized Metaverses powered by Blockchain:
Blockchain 4.0’s advanced solutions can also help Metaverse users regulate their security and trust needs. Take the Metaverse gaming platform, for example, where users can buy, own and trade in-game items of potentially huge value. Proof of ownership through something as immutable and rare as NFTs will be necessary to prevent counterfeiting of these assets.
Finally, blockchain 4.0 will enable businesses to move some or all of their current operations to secure, self-registering applications based on decentralized, trustless and encrypted ledgers. Businesses and institutions can easily enjoy the fundamental benefits of the blockchain.
2. Stablecoins will be more visible
Using Bitcoin as an example of cryptocurrencies is highly volatile in nature. To avoid that volatility, stablecoins strongly came into the picture with stable value attached to each coin. As of now, stablecoins are in their infancy, and it is predicted that 2023 will be the year when blockchain stablecoins will reach their all-time high.
3. Social Network Problems Meet Blockchain Solution
There are around 4.74 billion social media users worldwide in 2022.
The introduction of blockchain in social media will be able to solve the problems associated with notorious scandals, privacy breaches, data control and content relevance. Therefore, the blockchain mix in the social media domain is another new technology trend in 2023.
With the implementation of blockchain, it can be ensured that all published data on social media remains untraceable and cannot be duplicated, even after it has been deleted. In addition, users will be able to store data more securely and maintain ownership. Blockchain also ensures that the power of content relevance lies in the hands of those who created it, rather than the platform owners. This makes the user feel safer as they can control what they want to see. A daunting task is convincing social media platforms to implement it, this could be on a voluntary basis or as a result of privacy laws similar to GDPR.
4. Interoperability and blockchain networks
Blockchain interoperability is the ability to share data and other information across multiple blockchain systems as well as networks. This feature makes it easy for the public to view and access the data across different blockchain networks. For example, you can send your data from one Ethereum blockchain to another specific blockchain network. Interoperability is a challenge, but the benefits are great.
5. Economics and finance will lead blockchain applications
Unlike other traditional businesses, the banking and finance industry does not need to introduce radical transformation to their processes to adopt blockchain technology. After it was successfully used for cryptocurrency, financial institutions began to seriously consider blockchain adoption for traditional banking operations.
Blockchain technology will allow banks to reduce excessive bureaucracy, perform faster transactions at lower costs and improve secrecy. One of Gartner’s blockchain predictions is that the banking industry will derive billions of dollars in business value from the use of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies by 2023.
Also, blockchain can be used to launch new cryptocurrencies that will be regulated or influenced by monetary policy. In this way, the banks want to reduce the competitive advantage of independent cryptocurrencies and gain greater control over monetary policy.
6. Blockchain integration in public agencies
The idea of the distributed ledger is also very attractive to public authorities that have to manage very large amounts of data. Currently, each agency has its own database, so they must constantly request information about citizens from each other. However, the implementation of blockchain technologies for efficient data management will improve the functioning of such agencies.
According to Gartner, by 2023, more than a billion people will have some data about them stored on a blockchain, but they may not be aware of it. Also, national cryptocurrencies will emerge, it is inevitable that governments will have to recognize the benefits of blockchain-derived currencies. Digital money is the future and nothing will stop.
7. Blockchain combines with IoT
The IoT technology market will see a renewed focus on security as complex security challenges emerge. These complexities stem from the diverse and distributed nature of technology. The number of Internet-connected devices has broken the 26 billion mark. Device and IoT network hacking will become commonplace by 2023. It’s up to network operators to stop intruders from doing business.
The current centralized architecture of IoT is one of the main reasons for the vulnerability of IoT networks. With billions of devices connected and more to be added, the IoT is a major target for cyber attacks, making security extremely important.
Blockchain offers new hope for IoT security for several reasons. First, blockchain is public, anyone participating in the network of nodes in the blockchain network can see the blocks and transactions stored and approve them, although users can still have private keys to control transactions. Second, blockchain is decentralized, so there is no single authority that can approve the transactions eliminating the Single Point of Failure (SPOF) weakness. Third and most importantly, it is secure – the database can only be extended and previous records cannot be changed.
8. Blockchain with AI
With the integration of AI (Artificial Intelligence) with blockchain technology, it will provide a better development. This integration will show a level of improvement in blockchain technology with a sufficient number of applications.
The International Data Corporation (IDC) suggests that global spending on AI will reach $57.6 billion by 2023 and 51% of businesses will transition to AI with blockchain integration.
In addition, blockchain can also make AI more coherent and understandable, and we can track and determine why decisions are made in machine learning. Blockchain and its ledger can record all the data and variables that go through a decision made during machine learning.
Also, AI can increase blockchain efficiency far better than humans or even standard computing can. A look at the way blockchains currently run on standard computers proves this with a lot of processing power needed to perform even basic tasks
Examples of applications of AI in Blockchain: Smart Computing Power, Creating different datasets, Data Protection, Data Monetization, Trusting AI Decision Making.
9. Demand for Blockchain experts
Blockchain is a new technology and only a few percent of individuals are skilled at this technology. As blockchain technology becomes a rapidly growing and widespread technology, it creates a situation for many to develop skills and experience about blockchain technology.
Although the number of experts in the blockchain field is increasing, on the other hand, the implementation of this technology has a rapid growth that will create a situation for the demand of Blockchain experts by 2023.
It is worth saying that there are real efforts by universities and colleges to catch up with this need, including San Jose State University with several courses covering blockchain technology, but the rate of graduating students with enough skills to handle blockchain technology is not enough to fill space. Companies are also taking steps to build on their existing talent by adding training programs to develop and manage blockchain networks.
