We live in a world where technology continues rule. Technology has changed everything about the way we operate. It has been a while since Smartphones were introduced to us and look what this innovation has done to us! We can basically operate anything on our phones, right from placing an order online to checking every activity going on in our accounts.
“In technology whatever can be done will be done”. - Andrew S Grov
Today, we are in the middle of another revolutionary technology: Blockchain Technology. The blockchain network is a distributed ledger that can record all transactions between two parties efficiently and in a secure way. The major asset of the blockchain network is that it is decentralized and is highly transparent.
Analyzing blockchain technology, you will notice that it has paved the way for a number of useful innovations. Bitcoin, a digital currency introduced in 2009, was a blockchain innovation. Bitcoin in the past years has become increasingly successful and has a market cap of $10-$20 billion. Many countries have legalized the currency’s use and bitcoin is used for payments in many sectors. Blockchain technology was the basic principle behind bitcoin. Today, almost every financial institution is researching about blockchain technology and how the technology can prove beneficial to them. As of now, almost 15% of the banks are said to use the blockchain network.
As blockchain technology progressed, smart contracts came into existence. Smart contracts were first used by Ethereum for building computer programs directly into a blockchain network that allowed loans and bonds to be represented, rather than only cash like tokens of the bitcoin. The Ethereum smart contract platform now has a market value of billions.
The proof of stake is another rising innovation of blockchain technology. The current network of blockchain operates with proof of work. In a proof of work platform, the party with the largest total computing power makes the decision. These groups are termed as miners and operate vast data centres to provide this security.
As of now, every computer in the network processes every transaction that takes place. This process is actually slow. Blockchain scaling is an innovation that is on the horizon these days. A scaled blockchain network will accelerate the process, without disturbing the security. The scaled process simply figures out how many systems are necessary to confirm each transaction and divide up the work equally. This process is expected to be very fast.
The above innovations prove how the hard work of several cryptographers; scientists and mathematicians have helped the blockchain network. Self driving cars, drones and international money transfers have become less complex with the application of blockchain technology.
No one can be sure of what the future holds for blockchain technology. You see, who thought social media was going to create such a buzz? Technology keeps advancing. All we can hope for is that an increasing number of people adopt blockchain technology. Given that the blockchain network has come so far, perhaps the future will arrive earlier than any one of us ever imagined.
