An Analysis of the Blockchain Market: How is it Offering a Future Roadmap for Industries?

Scientists first proposed blockchain technology in 1991 to store digital data in a paper called “How to Time-Stamp a Digital Document.” It was a procedure for certifying a newly created or modified digital document. However, it remained in the backburner.

In 2002, David Mazières and Dennis Shasha wrote of blockchain’s ability to store data in each block. In 2005, computer scientist Nick Szabo’s bit-gold introduced proof of work and timestamping. However, the currency could not overcome double-spending. In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto’s currency allowed transactions without a third party. The distributed timestamp servers generated computational proof in chronological order.

Distributed ledger meant that no one person is in control of the record, and no one has an opportunity to manipulate the block and the codes (chains) connecting the blocks. In 2009, Satoshi mined the first block, verifying the transaction, adding it to the chain’s base, and kicking off the blocks with each block containing verified transaction information.

Characteristics of a Blockchain

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) predates blockchain. However, DLT-based blockchain is the most popular. The characteristics include:

Immutability

Immutability means something that cannot be changed or altered. It keeps the technology uncorrupted. Every node in the chain features a copy of the previous from the bulk of the nodes. The immutable cryptographic signature called hash records transactions.

Decentralization

Instead of a governing authority, it has a herd of nodes maintaining the network. You can transfer money across international boundaries at a low cost. With copies of the same transaction stored in millions of computers, all of them can interact with each other.

Users can directly access it online and store any asset there, ranging from documents, cryptocurrencies, contacts, or other valuable digital assets. A private key will give them direct control over them.

Security

The blockchain’s information is hashed cryptographically, hiding the true nature of the data. Any input file gets through a mathematical algorithm producing a special value with a fixed length, a singular identification for data. All blocks contain a hash and the hash of the previous block.

Tampering with the information changes all the hash IDs, which is impossible to accomplish. Users can access the info with a private key but will have a public key to form transactions. When a user updates information, it updates the blocks and copies the same information on all computers.

Consensus

The consensus algorithm is at the core of the architecture. It helps the group of nodes active on the network in the decision-making process. The nodes can come to an agreement quickly.

The system runs smoothly when the nodes validate a transaction and come to a consensus. The nodes are practically ‘told’ by the underlying algorithm to validate and come to a consensus.

Faster settlement

Faster settlement is one of the prime advantages of blockchain. However, blockchain is slow due to the latency and the overhead involved. But the validation time can be made faster with different types of consensus mechanisms, sharding, and second layer solutions.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Blockchain’s Adoption

There is an unfettered interest in blockchain technology. The pandemic and the resulting challenges exposed shortcomings in the business processes and systems.

The pandemic highlighted the weaknesses in the global supply chains and dangerous dependence on individual producers. It underscored the need for the transparent, uninterrupted movement of goods from trusted suppliers.

The pandemic has pushed businesses into digitalization programs or initiatives. Health and financial services adopt blockchain as firms rebuild resilience into their processes and find risk-optimized models to create enhanced and differentiated value. It is enabling an environment to spur new activities and opportunities.

Instead of closing borders and cutting ties with global supply chains, it allows integrating processes and sharing information. As the world is re-emerging, blockchain developers improve informational silos and construct watertight supply-chain networks.

Blockchain Use Cases

If blockchains cannot be opened, broken, or tampered with, they could keep your medical records safe, count your votes, guarantee that the money you donate to charity goes to the right people, or the commodity (gold, diamond, rare earth metals) you bought is not financing war crimes.

The blockchain market size was USD 2.01 Bn in 2019 and is projected to grow to USD 69.04 Bn by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 56.1%. Let us look at some innovative use cases:

Digital marketing

It can track media buys, handle social impressions, and verify online identities. The technology can connect media buyers and providers directly, track transactions, and manage multiple channels simultaneously.

It can track social transactions like impressions on your social media campaigns and turn data into meaningful results. Blockchain can provide you with better means of verifying data. So, impressions are hard to fake. It could mean more RoI in the long term.

Reskilling platforms

There is an emphasis on reskilling platforms using blockchain. It is mapping competency, facilitating the future workforce planning and career mapping, analyzing skills gaps with extensive and customizable skills matrices, identifying skills gaps of teams, and then upskilling/reskilling by providing learners with assessment-driven learning.

Smart contracts

It is a digital form of contract with a programmable architecture. The details stored in the blockchain block keep track of assets. For example, smart contracts allow customers and insurance companies to manage claims securely and transparently. The contracts and claims could be recorded and validated by the network, eliminating invalid claims.

Decentralized finance (Defi)

All financial services, including banks, loans, and stock markets, are centralized. What if we can decentralize it? With a decentralized infrastructure, a stable cryptocurrency, and rules governing how a service will work and onboard customers, they can explore a decentralized finance company’s full range of services.

Once again, smart contracts enforce the rules, execute trades, and securely handles necessary funds. So, Defi’s advantages with decentralization are transparency, flexibility, free for all services, and interoperability, providing an opportunity to use other applications.

Blockchain-as-a-service (Baas)

With Baas, anyone could develop their digital products. It functions like a web host that runs a back-end operation for a blockchain-based app or platform.

Baas could be a catalyst leading to broader and deeper penetration of blockchain technology across industries and businesses. Baas can enable companies of any size to outsource the technically complex task of creating and running their blockchains while focusing on core activities.

Opportunities with Blockchain

As blockchain is still in its infancy, it is not immune to danger. But we see a lot of research that is making it faster and more secure. Draup has analyzed the current blockchain market with recommendations to invest time and resources in the below key areas:

• Cryptocurrency wallets and cross-border payments – Blockchain helps secure cross-border transactions through wallets. It can facilitate access to a range of financial services.
• IoT – IoT is said to be tailor-made for blockchain. Integrating IoT with blockchain lets permanent recording of transactions and easily identify risks.
• Product tracking – BaaS can trace agricultural products and identify any wrongs right from where it was grown to where it was packaged. It can also flag counterfeit medicines and their origin.
• Electronic Health Record (EHR) – It can help make virtual appointments possible, deliver real-time insights to health professionals, updates patient records instantly, etc.
• Messaging app – With demand for secure messaging apps on the rise, instant communication apps can use blockchain to make messaging private and secure, along with an option of sending payments from within the app.

Draup for Sales brings human and machine intelligence together. The platform provides insights and a holistic view of emerging opportunities in blockchain-enabled services. It devises a value proposition to explore trending use cases for quicker decision-making.

Download the whitepaper to know more about the emerging trends, regional hotspots, and which companies and service providers are creating blockchain-based services.