Blockchain Megatrends for 2017

Technologist and Cyber Security expert Michael Fisher recently shared an infographic on Twitter breaking down the top six megatrends of 2017. A megatrend is a shift in conceptual thinking at a highly macro level, a category which can act as an umbrella for many smaller trends.

Here are some ways blockchain fits into the most significant megatrends of 2017:
Countries Growing & Changing: This megatrend centers around the global shifts in world economics. Blockchain technology has already proven to be highly disruptive in the financial world, from payments processing to a store of wealth, and fits right into this trend as a means to provide access to economic strength for populations and countries where it never existed before. Estonia, already known for being a highly tech-savvy country, is considering “estcoins,” and Bitcoin mining and adoption in Venezuela could possibly save the nation’s volatile economy or at least offer its citizens a more reliable alternative to the Bolivar.
Change in Demographics: Though blockchain technology has many proponents across a wide swath of age demographics, there seems to be a high concentration of adopters and evangelists currently in their thirties. This group matured along with the boom in internet technology throughout the late 1990’s and early 2000’s and were finishing or recently completed college with the advent of Bitcoin. Now that the digital natives are growing older and becoming decision makers and influencers, it’s possible to see more crypto-enthusiasts at key positions in large institutions.
New Technologies: The Smart Era is here: smart phones, smart homes, smart cars, and smart cities are the latest initiatives to leverage emerging internet of things, artificial intelligence, and big data-based technologies to create a seamless digital/physical everyday experience. Decentralized networks like blockchain offer incredible potential to allow these advances in technology to integrate with preexisting processes. Smart contracts along with artificial intelligence can enable autonomous vehicles; data storage platforms are turning to decentralized networks to increase speed and efficiency; IOTA is a distributed ledger platform that exists with a focus wholly on internet of things.
Customer Experience & Expectation: Consumers are demanding higher degrees of personalization in their shopping experiences. Personalized marketing has supplanted segmentation as the primary marketing strategy used by professionals today, and continued improvement in digital analytics and web development technology allow websites to tailor user experiences for each individual visitor. BitClave is a prime example of using blockchain technology to deliver better, more personalized customer experiences: businesses advertising on the BitClave Active Search Ecosystem can interact directly with customers who are a perfect match for the products and services they offer, customers who willingly choose to share their data through the secured network of a blockchain. This means businesses can more effectively leverage user data to serve hyper-personalized offers to each individual.
Big Data: Advances in analytic platforms, Customer Relationship Management tools, web reporting, and social media analytics have provided businesses with more data than ever before. Applications built on blockchain technology are developing solutions to these data problems from decentralized storage to distributed computing. Companies like IPFS Blockchain-based data applications have been some of the most popular use cases to date.
New Business Models: 2017 has been the year of the entrepreneur in a big way. Businesses have successfully launched on models never before conceived, many of those based on blockchain technology. Though cryptocurrencies and blockchain have existed since 2008, it wasn’t until 2015 that development of applications and protocols based on the technology became actively developed. Throughout 2016 and 2017, advances in blockchain technology like Ethereum and Hyperledger, helped make blockchain technology accessible to developers, unlocking the protocol for widespread use across varied industries. As blockchain technology continues to advance, there’s no telling what 2018 and beyond will hold.
