Blockchain: A Technology At The Heart of Next Industrial Revolution

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by Bhushan Akolkar · 4 min read
Blockchain: A Technology At The Heart of Next Industrial Revolution
Photo: Chuck Reynolds / Flickr

Here is a quick synopsis on the recent penetration of the blockchain technology, the future roadmap, and expert views regarding the blockchain.

The buzzword ‘blockchain’ has been resonating to our ears for past few years especially when we here about virtual digital currencies, famously known as cryptocurrencies. However, it has to be noted that the blockchain technology, also known as the distributed ledger technology (DLT) is a much bigger version and cryptocurrencies are only one part of its application.

Having explored its application across multiple different fields and industrial horizons, the blockchain technology is expected to be at the heart of next industrial revolution. The blockchain is a path-breaking technology that has found its application across different fields of healthcare, supply chain and logistics, insurance sector, shipments and many more. Several big industries and giants from the Silicon Valley have started pumping billions of dollars to implement blockchain technology at their and streamline their services thereby providing better customer experiences.

Understanding Blockchain In Brief

If you are really anxious about how blockchain operates, here is an informative video from YouTube channel ‘Simply Explained’ which gives some insights into the working of blockchain technology. The video provides insight into how the transfer of information, i.e transactions between the blocks of the blockchain, takes place and how it offers an high-end security and is essentially tamper proof.

The definition provided by Don & Alex Tapscott, authors Blockchain Revolution (2016), states:

“The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.”

The modus operandi of the blockchain technology is a completely decentralized way of functioning with no central authority, owing to which it brings a lot of accountability and transparency in the transactions taking place.

Blockchain Still In The Nascent Stage of Development

Although blockchain caters to the application of plethora of industrial issues, the technology is still in its nascent stage of development. Big industry giants and corporations have the financial muscle to invest in the development of blockchain solutions, however, it is still far from the reach of small and medium scale industries.

Developing blockchain solutions requires serious and top-notch technical skills and it is quite obvious that the talent comes at a huge cost sometimes being out of the affordability of small and medium-sized industries. This has proved to be one of the major roadblocks in the widespread adoption of the blockchain.

Moreover, the technology being relatively new, there is no proper infrastructure accessible for its development. On the other hand, there is no focused or channelized approach towards the use of the blockchain technology and in this mad and crazy rush, industries are often found losing sight on their long-term implementation of the blockchain technology.

Several big giant technology corporations have already started backend framework and interface for industry-specific blockchain solutions that make it easy for small and medium-sized industries to deploy and implement at their end.

Mr. Wozniak Fires New Shots on Blockchain, Favours Bitcoin

During a recently held NEX technology conference in New York, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak fired shots at the blockchain technology calling it a bubble and even equating it with the dotcom bubble of the 90s. According to a recent report from CNBC, during the conference Wozniak said that he has no apprehensions about the potential of blockchain technology and its ability to disrupt several industries, but he believes that a majority of blockchain startups will end up over-promising and under-delivering.

While drawing parallels with the dotcom bubble, Mr. Wozniak said:

 “It was a bubble, and I feel that way about blockchain. If you look now you say all that internet stuff happened, we got it, it just took a while,” he said. “It doesn’t change in a day, a lot of the blockchain ideas that are really good by coming out early they can burn themselves out by not being prepared to be stable in the long run.”

On the other hand, Wozniak praised Bitcoin earlier this month saying:

“Bitcoin is mathematically defined, there is a certain quantity of bitcoin, there’s a way it’s distributed… and it’s pure and there’s no human running, there’s no company running and it’s just… growing and growing… and surviving. That to me says something that is natural and nature is more important than all our human conventions.”

Currently, there is a lot of buzz surrounding the blockchain technology and a lot of successful projects are already seen taking shape. One such project was Decentraland which managed to pocket a whopping $24 million in just half-a-minute from investors during its launch last year.

This blockchain company sells virtual real-estate online wherein users can buy virtual lands in virtual cities. The virtual spaces can be built on, or united with other spaces in order to create larger ecosystems within the virtual world.

Bitcoin News, Blockchain News, Cryptocurrency News, News
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