It’s time to look towards 2024 and the blockchain technology landscape because it’s a sector poised for continuous advancement and change. Blockchain is not limited to crypto, although the technology serves as the backbone for digital assets. The mere existence of crypto and the fact that people can nowadays buy Bitcoin with credit card is owed entirely to this cutting-edge technology.
Blockchain brings such powerful advancements in the tech industry that changes entire sectors, giving innovative development opportunities. Blockchain sits at the base of a new wave of the Internet called Web3 and impacts the way people look at the digital ecosystem.
A series of drivers affects the next trends in the sector, and it’s best to identify them early to understand what to expect from blockchain technology fully.
In 2024, there will be several ways in which people will use blockchain technology. If you’re reading this article, you’re probably interested to find out how it’ll serve your needs.
Interoperability
Over the last few years, new blockchains have been developed to solve diverse issues – some support smart contracts, others are used for payments, and some even facilitate data storage. Each of these blockchains functions independently from the others and has unique rules, so it has been difficult to create connections between them.
But, interoperability has become paramount in the sector because it supports development. An increased level of communication can power an interconnected system that combines benefits from individual networks and provides users with superior features.
Lately, we have witnessed the development of technology that enables chains to communicate through the help of certificates. For example, Cosmos relies on the Interblockchain Communication Protocol to engage with other networks. Polkadot came up with the Parachain technology that bridges a connection with Cardano.
Enterprise adoption facilitates blockchain advancement
A growing number of organizations worldwide have introduced cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum to their payment methods, which ignited the public interest in blockchain technology and sparked discussions about how integrating it into the traditional financial system would impact investments.
Blockchain experts believe that the institutional acceptance of digital currencies is a major step in the sector’s evolution. It indicates that the public is confident that well-known digital currencies have the potential to enter the mainstream and gain more stability. Some sector specialists also believe that this step could democratize access to blockchain-based assets and impact the evolution of digital commodities.
However, let’s not forget that security and regulatory concerns persist, and the market is in great need of stability, especially after it went through a bear stage.
Decentralized Finance has the power to change modern industries
Decentralized Finance has entered the FinTech world and is expanding its influence daily. It has facilitated the birth of concepts like InsureTech, SocialFi, and GameFi. Most of these ecosystems have been developed as a result of Ethereum’s development and smart contract functionalities. Decentralized Finance was created to provide an alternative to third parties and offer digital users a more affordable, efficient, and effective system. However, the technology is still early and features some vulnerabilities.
Decentralized Finance has become crucial for small and medium enterprises and younger markets. Its programmability facilitates the development of smart contracts and other unique financial tools that enable fee reduction and streamline operations. Blockchain technology is famous for its unchangeability and transparency, and considering that decentralized Finance is powered by it, it has gained great popularity and trust among users.
Here is a list of DeFi technologies that promise to support business expansion and job creation in the following years.
– SocialFi – decentralized social media networks that rely on blockchain technology to verify user identity and process payments
– SciFi – financial support for researchers that promises equitable funding and an increased level of transparency.
– RegFi – enhances transparency and trust in regulatory activities facilitated by decentralized governance and smart contracts.
– BusiFi – business management Dapps and solutions developed with the help of blockchain.
– IndFi – industrial tools that boost efficiency and performance by cutting down the need for third parties.
– GameFi – applications that manage finances via blockchain games, which lower the possibility of committing fraud.
– MediaFi – decentralized solutions created for multimedia production that can also enable easier financial management.
Business innovation drives an expansion of the meaning of the Metaverse
Metaverse is still a new concept, and its definition is continually changing and expanding to include the new potential it has in the digital environment. The Metaverse functions like a boundless space the global audience can easily access. The ads in the Metaverse revolutionize the marketing sector because they require no physical interaction or tangible resources. In the Metaverse, organizations can find secure marketing platforms and rely on smart contracts to access Web3 and make the most of it.
The Metaverse homes numerous ecosystems at the moment to meet several market requirements.
– MetaTra – it offers an alternative to traditional travel, as it provides the users with virtual travel experiences at affordable prices.
– MetaAca – the Metaverse functions like a global interactive education platform that promotes immersive learning.
– MetaMeet – a side of the Metaverse that facilitates business engagement and enables virtual meetings and the creation of social networks.
– MetaEx – it hosts virtual exhibition events at accessible fees.
– MetaMed – a set of blockchain-based medical services that improves the performance of healthcare and telemedicine.
– MetaFash – it functions like a network of service providers, sellers, and buyers.
The rise of non-fungible tokens
Non-fungible tokens function similarly to other tokenized assets. They were developed to serve as digital representations of valuable blockchain-based assets and have unique features. As with all the other blockchain-based tokens, they are unique and cannot be counterfeited or changed. They can connect physical items with digital representations and provide the users ownership of digital assets.
Due to their uniqueness, non-fungible tokens are often used as digital artworks. Most of them were used for videos, GIFs, images, and other types of visual arts. However, as with all the other assets powered by blockchain technology, their usage is expansive, and if they continue to evolve, they’ll serve the sector’s advancement. Over the last years, non-fungible tokens have started to be used as event tickets, luxury goods, fashion articles, and gaming assets.
Final thoughts
Blockchain technology will reach a new level of maturity in the following years, and the above trends will play an active role in supporting it.
