The future of cryptocurrencies is a topic that has been discussed for years. There are many opinions on the matter, but what does the data say? In this blog post, we will explore how blockchain experts see the future of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology related to different aspects of society.
1. What is blockchain technology, and how does it work?
Blockchain technology has been around for years, but it is still not widely known. Blockchain’s potential to change the world can be seen even by unfamiliarity with its current uses and implementations.
For example, blockchain enables secure data transfers between parties that don’t need to know or trust each other to transact business together. Blockchain is a digital ledger of all cryptocurrency transactions in the simplest terms. It is constantly growing as “completed” blocks are added with a new set of recordings. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. Bitcoin nodes use the blockchain to differentiate legitimate Bitcoin transactions from attempts to re-spend coins that have already been spent elsewhere.
The use of blockchain technology is not limited to cryptocurrency, however. It has the potential to be used in a variety of industries, including finance, healthcare, supply chain management, and more.
In fact, according to Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies report, blockchain is now in the “trough of disillusionment.” This means that many enterprises are beginning to lose interest, as there has been little real-world application thus far.
However, those who do not continue exploring blockchain technology will fall behind and eventually become obsolete (similar to what happened with mainframes and PCs).
Blockchain can be used to secure any type of information, including text documents and contracts. It is more secure than current systems because the records are immutable once they have been created.
In addition to being used for cryptocurrency transactions, blockchain can be used as a tool to cut out middlemen from many industries thanks to its ability to facilitate the trustless exchange of value between parties, for more details, go to inx.co crypto trading platform.
2. How experts see the future of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies
The experts we spoke to see the future of cryptocurrencies and blockchain as bright.
These so-called blockchain experts consist of industry luminaries, founders of blockchain companies, and other experts who are involved in the industry.
Dr. Garrick Hileman – UK-based Dr. Garrick Hileman is an Economic Historian at Cambridge University focusing on cryptocurrencies and decentralized technologies. He’s also the co-director of the Centre for Alternative Finance (University of Cambridge)
Another expert who sees the future of blockchain technologies as bright is Vinny Lingham, co-founder, and CEO of Civic. He believes that Bitcoin will reach $75K by 2024.
“I think Bitcoin (and its supporting ecosystem) has matured past the point where people are willing to write it off,” said Lingham in an email to CoinDesk. “It’s become a legitimate currency, and people have started to understand the value of its underlying technology.”
Lingham is so optimistic about Bitcoin that he recently re-launched his identity company – Civic – as a decentralized blockchain platform for verifying user identities to help restore privacy and reduce costs associated with current identity verification methods.
“The blockchain is a global public database that anyone can access, but no one can change. It’s like a Google spreadsheet that multiple people constantly update,” said Lingham.
He believes that the key to the success of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will be in their usability and widespread adoption.
Some experts we talked to predict that most of the cryptocurrencies on the market today will not exist in ten years. However, they also see this as a healthy development because it forces entrepreneurs and developers worldwide to innovate by creating new currencies with advanced features.
As for blockchain technology, most experts agree that its current uses are just scratching the surface of what is possible. In the future, blockchain will be used in more industries and for a wider variety of purposes.
These experts above also agree that cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is here to stay. Despite the market’s current volatility, there is too much potential for these technologies to disappear overnight.
According to them, this technology will be integrated into different aspects of our lives in five years, for example:
• Using cryptocurrency at restaurants and “on-demand” services such as Uber or Postmates.
• The proliferation of decentralized exchanges will allow for peer-to-peer trading of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
• The increasing use of smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts that automatically enforce the agreed-upon terms between parties.
In addition to the points above, these experts also see a future where blockchain technology is used to create “decentralized autonomous organizations.” These would be entities that run autonomously from a set of rules encoded in smart contracts.
In the future, blockchain technology will provide the necessary security and transparency for these organizations to operate without any human intervention or oversight – essentially removing the need for middlemen across many industries.
It is also important to note that most experts believe that for blockchain technology to take hold and make an impact truly, the general public will need a better understanding of how it works.
Finally, we should acknowledge that while this technology has immense potential to change the world as we know it today, there are also some challenges facing its widespread adoption:
• Scalability issues such as slow transactions speeds and high processing fees
• The lack of a clear business case or use case for many enterprises.
• Regulatory uncertainty, as different countries are taking different approaches to regulate cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
Despite these challenges, the experts we spoke to remain bullish on the future of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. They believe that these technologies will be ready to take center stage with time and continued innovation.
3. More on How experts see the future of blockchain technology
The experts we spoke to see the future of blockchain technology as even brighter than that of cryptocurrencies.
According to them, this technology will be used in a variety of industries across the world within five years’ time.
Some examples include:
• The use of blockchain for secure record-keeping in finance, healthcare, and supply chain management.
• The development of decentralized applications (dApps) that will run on the blockchain.
• The increasing use of smart contracts in a variety of industries.
In addition to the points above, these experts also see a future where blockchain technology is used to create “decentralized autonomous organizations.” These would be entities that run autonomously from a set of rules encoded in smart contracts without any human intervention or oversight.
It is also important to note that most experts believe that for blockchain technology to take hold and make an impact truly, the general public will need a better understanding of how it works.
Summary:
In conclusion, it is difficult to predict what the future holds for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. However, these experts agree that we will see a vastly different world in five years’ time than today, where decentralized technologies are used across many aspects of our lives.
