Companies and developers continue to find innovative new uses for blockchain technology every day. Here are some of the biggest trends that are shaking up the industry today.
The Ongoing Rise of NFTs
Right now, we’re in the middle of another unexpected development in blockchain technology. Just as no one saw the rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies coming, nobody could have expected the impact that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) would have on the world of blockchain technology.
This new application of existing blockchains like Ethereum provides a new way to provide actual ownership to digital assets. The non-fungible part means that they aren’t interchangeable. It’s not like owning one Bitcoin. It’s like owning a unique and distinct artwork.
Visual artwork itself kicked off the boom of NFTs. This application of the tokens is easy to understand, with an individual token signifying ownership of an individual artwork. It can then be traded or sold like any other token, with the ownership of the artwork accompanying it.
However, visual artwork and collectibles are just the very beginning of what NFTs have to offer. Already people are beginning to implement them in unique ways. An NFT could be a ticket to a concert or other event. In fact, it could carry the full weight of any smart contract with it.
Eventually, we might even see this extend to ownership of physical assets. The deed to your house could be 100% secure and impossible to lose if kept as an NFT, carrying a permanent ledger of past sales with it. The same can be said for your vehicle or practically anything. The sky’s the limit for this nascent application of blockchain technology.
Providing More Effective and Versatile Identity Management
In a way, blockchain has been about identity from the very start. The initial application of blockchain technology was Bitcoin, the very first cryptocurrency. Bitcoin used, and continues to use, private keys to establish and verify the ownership of specific coins.
So, from the very start, blockchain has been used to verify the identity of wallet holders to allow them to access their cryptocurrencies. The key here is that the wallet address itself is the identity. You’re nothing but a string of numbers on the blockchain. But what if that weren’t the case?
What if, instead of merely connecting you to your digital wallet, your private key could connect you to your digital identity? This is where many see blockchain technology heading today, providing a secure and unforgeable method for identity verification.
Blockchain identification could be used for anything. It could streamline signing up for accounts online. It could serve as a passport or driver’s license. It could fulfill the role of cards, usernames, passwords, or anything else you need to establish your identity.
One of the key perks of this new trend is that it will dramatically increase security around your identity. Blockchain identification makes it possible to only share the bare essential information. Think of any time you’ve had to show your driver’s license as proof of identity. All they need to know is that you are you, but you’ve given them your address, birthdate, and more.
Streamlining International Finance
Moving money across borders has never been easy. There are many services out there right now, competing to get their share of the fees and percentages that businesses and individuals pay to send money abroad. Cryptocurrencies could do away with all of that trouble.
While there are still fees involved with the use of cryptocurrencies, they pale in comparison to the cut that banks and other companies take on foreign currency exchanges. By maintaining a steady supply of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, a company can facilitate these transfers themselves, cutting out the middlemen.
This kind of blockchain use is still in its nascency, though, as tax codes and regulations around the world make doing business in cryptocurrencies difficult. If these issues are ever resolved, Bitcoin could become the standard for making international money transfers.
It’s equally important to watch out for various websites or services that claim to be Exchanges, but in reality are get-rich-quick schemes like Immediate Edge which was branded as a “blacklisted scam” by cryptocurrency portal ScamCryptoRobots.com.
Future Blockchain Trends
NFTs, identification, and international finance are all areas in which blockchain is already being used today in some capacity. They’re all poised to continue to grow, and there’s no doubt that countless other new applications will follow hot on their tails.
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