Blockchain Hype — Time to get Real
Though Blockchain’s underlying technology i.e., cryptography, had been playing hide and seek since 1992, Bitcoin gave its implication the much-needed acceleration. Adoption of Blockchain in various industries especially in startups is like the first carbon atom of a diamond. It’s a full-fledged asset class now and I am most certain that with further infrastructure implementations, it is the beginning of something magnificent.
It can remove foundational obstacles present across a wide variety of industries. With decentralized systems, we can fundamentally resolve the world issues and become a fairer and more equitable society. However, there are various outspoken critics from large incumbent enterprises, who question the feasibility and credibility of Blockchain. This hybrid technology, when considered from a technical angle, can majorly benefit distributed infrastructure. It can inevitably change the current methods of organizing and arranging the world’s information.
Decentralized nature of Blockchain can supplant the need of an error-prone intermediary. Currently, the middleman is a hindrance in the progress, it is evident that these middlemen are expensive and results in less financial benefits within the industry.
Programmable code induced in a Blockchain to bind an arrangement is called smart contracts. These are helpful in Blockchain ledger, which can be used to exchange money, property, shares or anything of value in a transparent, conflict-free way while avoiding the services of the middleman. Hence, smart contracts help in decreasing the dependency on 3rd party players.
If we look around most of the governments and industries that are running on legacy infrastructures are becoming slow, inefficient, corruptive with time. They are also failing in generating cost-effective processes. Optimization of Blockchain ledgers could automate a lot of processes by taking control of issues like trust and authentication. This surely can eradicate the threat of fraud and scam due to the elimination of human involvement in the entire chain. The ambiguity and opaqueness, which is evident in all the current systems, could be alleviated and the power can be returned to the people. Blockchain systems provide a more secure environment for marketplaces and ecosystems. Ledgers developed on Blockchain’s cryptographically, encrypt and log sensitive information automatically. This, combined with the decentralized nature of the data storage, effectively eliminates the costly risk of cyber-attacks. Cybercrime drains $600 billion a year from the global economy, says report. According to McAfee and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, nearly one percent of global GDP is lost to cybercrime each year. In addition to this, the algorithm that organizes and stores our information cannot be corrupted. Hence, it can also not be biased towards a particular party which will solve the problems of the existing structure.
Blockchains over the time can become a core component that will effectively function as the backbone of different industries. It will be interesting to see who, how, and when different startups will begin to generate value by employing this technology. Meanwhile, in the near future, there can be some volatility in this industry, as most fledgling ideas will die off. Yet we are excited to witness some sustainable projects and ideas that hold the potential in making a real and tangible impact on the modern economy.
