Blockchain Today

If you haven't heard the term blockchain yet, then you haven't been paying attention. Some have called it "the next internet" and expect it to change the World. I would tend to agree with that assessment. In fact, I've been studying blockchain for a few months now and my prediction is; "blockchain will do for the Internet, what the wheel did for transportation."

If you don't already know, blockchain is the underlying technology that is driving cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Etherium, and LiteCoin. Blockchain is the reason for that cryptocurrencies are even possible. It provides transparency, security, and stability. However, that is just the one application of blockchain technology and quite arguably the most public. There are many projects being implemented today that are not so public. The Forbes Finance Council members listed some unexpected applications of blockchain technology that will have a positive impact on business. Number 3, Contract Fraud Reduction, will have the most systemic impact on business; in my opinion. Read more here.

There are some who have been following blockchain who are hung up on the current scalability issues facing cryptocurrencies. It is true that there is a scalability issue. However, this problem can and will be solved. Many hours of effort are being spent on this issue as some solutions are starting to bubble to the surface as potential answers. Two prevailing potential answers are: SegWit and the LightningNetwork. The major drawback to both is that they are off-chain. This undermines the very purpose of blockchain. However, my money is on Ardor. Jelurida, the creators of Ardor, came up with an ingenious design of Parent Chain / Child Chain architecture. “The unique parent child chain architecture of the Ardor Platform allow companies to build their products and services using child chains while relying on the security provided by the parent chain.” Problem solved.

BaaS - Get used to hearing this term. Blockchain-as-a-service.