Top Blockchain Technology Trends in 2023 That Will Have a Lasting Impact
Blockchain technology has introduced new trends and innovations every year since its inception, including decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Play-to-earn (P2E) games, and smart contracts. Everyone is excited to see what 2023 has in store for the blockchain space.
Top Blockchain Tech Trends to Look out for in 2023
Disruptive developments and technologies have dominated the blockchain space in 2022. Some interesting technologies developments to look for in 2023 include zk-SNARKs, Ethereum’s The Surge and The Scourge, which were added to Ethereum’s roadmap following a massive influx of regulation after The Merge took place.
zk-SNARKs
zk-SNARK stands for “Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge,” referring to a cryptographic proof infrastructure that enables users — the prover and the verifier — to establish ownership of specific knowledge. This would allow users to keep some information private using a cryptographic secret key, without having to tell anyone or needing to link any data with a verifier outside the validity of this transaction.
As security and privacy concerns continue to rise, blockchain networks are likely to adapt zk-SNARKs to improve the privacy of transactions. While validators have to check if a transaction meets certain requirements, the networks can utilize zk-SNARKs to encrypt parts of their consensus mechanism rules so that data is transmuted into equations during the transaction process. The secret cryptographic keys are enough evidence to verify and transact. This way, the sender’s transaction is approved without disclosing their addresses or transaction information. While a few networks are already implementing their networks using this architecture, 2023 may make it hit the airwaves with the same intensity NFTs took the limelight in 2021.
Ethereum Blockchain
The Ethereum Ecosystem recent upgrade, The Merge, cut its global carbon footprint by about 99%. There are still more upgrades in the Ethereum Foundation’s roadmap, including the Surge, the Verge, the Purge, and the Splurge.
Following the successful upgrade of the network, the second stage of the upgrade, called the Surge, begins in 2023. The Surge will introduce Sharding, which will split the network into “shards” or several smaller partitions, with each partition containing its own transaction history. Recently, the network’s Co-Founder tweeted about an addition to the roadmap, called the Scourge, that will come as the third upgrade after the Surge. This step is meant to address censorship and decentralization concerns that were introduced by The Merge. The Scourge will help improve Ethereum’s decentralization and censorship resistance.
Some in the Ethereum community argue that censorship resistance is more important than scalability. If this argument prevails, there is a slight chance that the two upgrades might switch in their implementation schedules. Otherwise, the Surge might kick off in 2023. We say “might” because if there’s anything we learned from The Merge, it’s that the Ethereum Foundation can take its time.
Digital Identity
Another trend that may dominate in 2023 is digital identity. The shift towards spending so much of our lives online makes owning, controlling, and authenticating our identities even more important.
The existing identity systems are isolated and error-prone. Blockchain technology can provide a single source of truth for identity and digital assets’ verification. The desire to own and control personal information and data across platforms is quickly catching on as the year comes to a close, and 2023 will likely bring the trend to its prime.
Decentralized Social Networks
Both Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey hinted at creating a decentralized social network. Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase has led some investors to hope that he will proceed to bring decentralization and “freedom” to the app, as well as removing spambots and trolls. Jack Dorsey is currently developing Bluesky, a decentralized social network touted as a censor-resistant alternative to Musk’s Twitter. The idea of a completely decentralized social network will carry on to 2023 and beyond.
Greenifying Web3
The energy consumption of crypto mining has been a huge concern for organizations, individuals, and crypto advocates, with even China banning crypto minting. Blockchain networks like Ethereum have already shifted from a Proof-of-Work to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism to minimize their global carbon footprints. The concerted effort to make blockchain and Web3 projects applicable with less energy consumption may continue through 2023 and beyond.
We can expect to see increased efforts to make Web3 technologies greener or more eco-friendly. In addition, the World Economic Forum pointed out that Web3 has the capacity to transform organizations to build and facilitate cooperative technology that can help mitigate climate change.
Originally published at https://www.cryptohopper.com.
