What’s Next for Blockchain?

blockchain-what-nextOver the past number of years cryptocurrencies, in particular Bitcoin, have been an extremely hot topic of conversation, with both positive and negative speculations about their future. Significant interest in cryptocurrencies and the underlying Blockchain technology have led to large investments in this tech and Blockchain is beginning to find its natural place in the economy as a whole.

The Blockchain world has now moved into a period of real innovation and new product development. There are tremendous opportunities to use Blockchain in all sorts of industries from finance, supply chain, logistics, aviation and energy to AI – organisations are exploring ways to leverage the technology across a variety of applications.

Here’s some idea of where Blockchain might be heading in the coming years….

The Games Industry

Gaming companies and gamers are well used to digital currencies and Blockchain is a natural evolution to a concept they are very familiar with. eSports is growing rapidly in popularity and a great fit for Blockchain, so the gaming world may well lead the way in blockchain adoption.

Lots of the big gaming companies are already dipping their toes in the water and exploring ways to introduce Blockchain into the gaming experience.

Multiplayer games, payments and game assets could all use Blockchain capabilities making the industry a perfect testing ground for new opportunities.

The Blockchain and AI Relationship Will Deepen

AI needs high-end robust security to help eliminate vulnerabilities and Blockchain’s distributed ledger could provide the answer.

AI is excellent for organising data and carrying out automated processes whereas Blockchain can make sure the data is handled in an environment that’s safe from any external interference or tampering of data ownership.

Blockchain can complement AI so that consumers are more trusting of the technology.

Interested in Artificial Intelligence? Explore our latest AI training programmes.

Standardise and Collaborate

It’s possible that we’ll see a standardisation of interoperability among the different Blockchains. This would lead to big benefits for organisations and the end user when collaboration can take place in an open standard.

Going Social

Blockchain is set to become more involved in social media and it could solve two big problems: security and transparency.

Social networks could deploy the technology to help lock down profiles so personal data is harder to steal and also help fight the spread of fake news and spam.

People want more control over their content. Currently only social media influencers benefit from sharing content however Blockchain might enable anyone to choose to monetise their personal data.

In a world where data is the new gold, the possibility of monetising your own data and content is something many people are sure to get excited about.

Education

People and companies are becoming aware that Blockchains are a very powerful and useful tool. We’re seeing much more positive industry engagement and now it’s possible to obtain formal training in the area. For example, we were very excited to launch Ireland’s first ever Masters in Blockchain in collaboration with Dublin City University.

The reputation of this progressive technology is going to continue to grow and we expect to see more blockchain training courses coming online over the coming months to allow people upskill in the area and take advantage of a growing demand for Blockchain expertise.

The Future of Blockchain

Some of these changes may come sooner than others and some not at all. The revolution of blockchain is just beginning so the only guarantee is change is coming – what’s new?!