Are you wondering what Blockchain really is and where it is headed in the future? Well, you are not alone.
Despite the term being echoed almost everywhere, many people still do not understand this amazing technology. To tell you the truth, I was one of those people. Everywhere I went, I heard ‘BlockChain’ but never really got the hang of it. However, once I looked into it and understood its scope, I was in awe.
If you are asking yourself if the hype around Blockchain is all worth it, the answer is yes. You should look into it to grasp what the fuss is all about, as it is highly likely that the future of Blockchain will influence your work, business, and even your daily life.
Once I learned about it, I wanted everybody to find what the future holds for Blockchain. That’s why I build this simple guideline to explain to you what Blockchain is and what the Blockchain predictions for 2022 are.
So, let’s begin right away.
Blockchain 101 – What is it?
Blockchain technology refers to a decentralized ledger of all transactions across a peer-to-peer network. It allows the participants to confirm transactions without the need for any central clearing authority, such as a bank. A Blockchain system essentially involves a series of data blocks that are chained together in a ledger of transactions.
There are two common types of Blockchain:
- Permissionless that can be joined by anyone.
- Permissioned where the participants require authentication by the individual or group that is managing it.
What is Next for Blockchain – Predictions for 2022?
Here are some of the top Blockchain trends and predictions for 2022:
1. Financial Sector leading in Blockchain Application
More than 60 percent of the Blockchain’s market value is currently owned by the financial sector. Organizations that are working in the financial industry are readily adopting the application of Blockchain for conventional banking procedures. Thus, the banking and finance sector does not require any drastic changes or alterations to adjust to Blockchain technology.
In fact, a recent study revealed that Blockchain can help decrease the costs for financial service providers by approximately $15 billion to $20 billion per year by 2022. Moreover, Gartner predicts that the banking sector will utilize Blockchain technology to take the business value over $1 billion by 2022. So, it is easy to derive that the banking and finance industry would lead in Blockchain application this coming year.
2. New Governance Models
Blockchain technology is growing radically and exponentially. As more and more people now know its worth and advantages, it is being adapted to a wide range of industries. The rapid growth and development of Blockchain now demand new and better governance models. The year 2022 is predicted to see the development of some new governance models so that Blockchain technology can serve according to the growing demands.
These new governance models will help large and diverse groups of industries to achieve better efficiency in various matters. This may include the decision-making procedure, financial issues, payments, and permission schemes.
The newly developed Blockchain governance models will be able to collect new and more robust data sets. It will also ensure the standardization of information collected from various sources.
3. Demand for Blockchain Expertise Will Continually Increase
Blockchain has been a part of our digital world for more than a decade now, yet not many people recognize its full potential. Nonetheless, the world is now rapidly realizing that Blockchain is the future. As the world starts acknowledging the benefits of Blockchain, organizations would require professionals with proper Blockchain knowledge and skills.
One of the biggest online freelancing platforms, Upwork, has recently reported a remarkable increase in demand for people who are proficient in Blockchain. This demand is predicted to grow continually throughout the next year.
Therefore, the next year brings some lucrative career opportunities for aspiring professionals out there. There is still a massive skill gap that can be filled by professionals with the right training and Blockchain certifications.
4. The Blockchain-IoT Connection
Merging Blockchain technology with other technologies can help us achieve various amazing milestones. Blockchain can provide authentic data to inform and support the core algorithms of other technologies. Moreover, it can also ensure data security and a detailed audit of every step in the decision-making procedure.
By 2022 and the upcoming years, the connection of Blockchain and IoT could increase with the Blockchain technology providing a safe and scalable framework to enable smooth communication among IoT devices.
5. Boost in the Governance Application of Blockchain
It is one of the most important trends that could be the future of Blockchain in the year 2022. There are various countries all over the world that are now realizing how Blockchain technology can remarkably help them in various aspects of governance and administration.
Countries like Japan, Columbia, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam have done great work in Blockchain this year, which is only going to amplify in 2022. Japan is using this technology in its continuous fight against the global pandemic. Likewise, Columbia is supporting Blockchain-based payment systems. South Korea is bringing this innovative technology into its driver’s license system. Moreover, Thailand is working on a new juridical documentation system based on Blockchain. So, we can conclude that Blockchain technology is definitely going to penetrate into our daily lives very soon.
6. Increased Use of Blockchain in Retail
The year 2021 witnessed a significant increase in the introduction of Blockchain technology in the retail sector. In retail, this technology is mainly being used for supply chain and inventory management.
The application of Blockchain in retail offers various benefits. With big companies like Walmart and Amazon employing Blockchain, more and more businesses realize its worth. Therefore, it is predicted that the use of Blockchain in retail will continue to increase rapidly throughout 2022.
7. Completion of More Blockchain Projects
Another important Blockchain prediction for the next year indicates that many more Blockchain projects will reach their production stage. There are various Blockchain-based projects that are currently in their initial stages all across the world. Due to the increasing demand for Blockchain technology, these projects are forecasted to be completed this year,
Moreover, many new Blockchain projects will also be launched.
8.Facilitation of Distribution and Control of Vaccines
Another sector that is predicted to gain great benefits from Blockchain technology in the upcoming years is the health sector. In 2022, Blockchain technology will be able to control and track the delivery of medicines from the manufacturer right to the patient.
This technology will ensure the recording of the movement and the change of location. Blockchain ensures credibility and the absence of issues at any stage of the process.
However, before this project can be launched, there are certain additional developments that have to be taken care of. It includes finding and predicting the demand for medicines, vaccines, and management of the whole process.
9. The Appearance of More National Cryptocurrencies
The most significant application of Blockchain technology is cryptocurrency. The Russian president was the first one who recommended creating “Crypto Rouble,” a national cryptocurrency. At this moment, many governments are recognizing and getting on board with the benefits of Blockchain-based currencies. The level of transparency that these currencies offer still remains unmatched.
Therefore, it is predicted that many new national cryptocurrencies will appear in 2022 and beyond. Gartner predicts that a minimum of five countries will issue a national Blockchain-based cryptocurrency by 2022.
10. The Use of Blockchain for Social and Political Reasons
The use of Blockchain in various social and political scenarios is predicted to increase in the upcoming year. Blockchain technology has been recognized for its potential in transforming supply chain management, helping with the identity theft issue, or digital rights control and management.
The key factors that lead to Blockchain application to social and political areas include transparency and reliability.
11. Application of Digital Archives and NFTs into Blockchain
The NFT marketplace, or non-fungible tokens, allows users to have the incredible opportunity to prove the right to own a digital asset. Blockchain technology can further help with that. The Blockchain industry can help in determining more about the user that directly influences the pricing scheme.
Moreover, the implementation of Blockchain technology also helps in protecting the creative heritage. Using a Blockchain system, the NFTs can learn about the ownership of the land, vehicle, and real estate. This helps to keep track of any relevant information regarding the previous owners.
12. Law Integration into Smart Contracts
Apart from cryptocurrencies, another amazing benefit derived from Blockchain is smart contracts. It is the automatic execution of specific actions and tasks when certain conditions are met. For example, automatic delivery of goods once the payment is received.
However, it is a contract with not only one but many conditions. In order for the task to be executed, all of these conditions should be automatically regulated. Hence, a new Blockchain system is now being implemented that enables the creation of complex insurance policies.
Moreover, another point to be taken into account is that smart contracts are decentralized. Plus, these contracts are not regulated or monitored by any authoritative party. So, what would happen if any of the involved parties reached any disagreement? How to resolve such a condition still remains unclear.
Therefore, it is predicted that certain rules and laws are going to be enforced in smart contracts. This will ensure that if any dispute occurs between the participants of the smart contract, it gets resolved peacefully.
13. Revolution in the General State of the Economy
It has now been widely accepted and acknowledged that Blockchain technology is certainly going to transform the general state of the economy all across the world. Recent updates and studies show that the application of Blockchain wallet technology will offer massive economic growth by 2022.
The analysis of the most popular Blockchain system has been included in the studies that are directly connected to the study of the effect of modern technologies. This particularly involves the state of the world economy.
The representatives of various International Organizations believe that Blockchain helps in the reorganization, restructuring, and reinvention of business processes all across the globe. Many companies also believe that Blockchain technology will lead the world into a new way of working.
Thus, the year 2022 is going to be a big year for Blockchain as a majority of people are now familiar with its benefits.
Blockchain Future Trends
To understand the future of Blockchain a little better, here are some market predictions and statistics. These trends show that Blockchain is certainly going to grow more in 2022 and beyond. Have a look:
- Noteworthy cryptocurrency exchanges using multiparty computation (MPC) to enable private key protection and signoff will grow from 1% to 50% by 2022.
- Blockchain would become the authentication mechanism for almost 30% of the global news and video content by 2023.
- The costs would exceed the returns for around 30% of the smart contracts by 2023.
- The utilization of decentralized applications and smart contracts will become accepted Blockchain technical standards by 2023.
- Approximately half of the smartphone owners would be able to use mobile-access cryptocurrency accounts by 2025, even without any access to a conventional bank.
Final Word
The year 2021 is about to come to an end, and it is definitely the time to reflect upon what the next year will bring. As Blockchain continues to grow and mature, it can be clearly seen that it looks promising in 2022.
Blockchain is surely going to revolutionize various business processes in several industries. However, it is still a fairly fresh concept that will require time and effort. Even though some Blockchain startups have failed and will continue to fail, people will gain more experience and knowledge on how to use this incredible technology.
In the next year, Blockchain will continue inspiring people to acquire new skills and knowledge. In a nutshell, 2022 is predicted to see many more examples of successful implementation of Blockchain technology worldwide.
