What Are Blockchains? What Are The Developments that It Will See this Year?

Blockchains has been referred to as the number of records which are called blocks. They are secured and linked by the assistance of the cryptography technology. These records (blocks) carry the previous hash of blocks. Blockchains were designed to be extremely secure, and with the adoption of the Byzantine Tolerance technology, consensus can be carried out on these blockchains. The decentralized nature of these blockchains have made them more suitable and efficient for medical records, event recording and other numerous recording activities.

Blockchain came into existence in 2008 when web programmer and developer Nakamoto Satoshi used it for the first cryptocurrency. This development of blockchain for Bitcoin cryptocurrency made it the first digital asset or currency platform that sought out to solve the complex problem of double spending. This was done without any central authority structure.

IMPORTANT FACTS OF BLOCKCHAINS:

1. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to launch blockchains and since then multiple platforms have also launched various blockchains that seek to solve vital societal problems.
2. Blockchains were designed to be public like the way internet is.
3. Blockchain's development presently has been likened to that of Internet 20 years ago.
4. In the last five years, over $1 billion has been invested in blockchains.
5. Anyone with access can view the blocks (records) on the chain. This makes the blockchain technology one of the most transparent technologies out there

BLOCKCHAIN DEVELOPMENTS THAT WILL COME THIS YEAR

1. Initial Coin Offering will take off: 2017 saw a tremendous increase in ICO's. 2018 would be larger with experts predicting that ICO's will grow faster. If care is not taken, experts predicts that it will even overtake capital venture funding.
2. Cybersecurity technology adoption: over the years there have been numerous attacks on the blockchain technology of certain cryptocurrency platforms. This cybersecurity will come with numerous defenses for various blockchain technologies. Experts have predicted that this new cybersecurity will be the next thing that will happen to the blockchain industry.
3. Adoption of blockchain technology by firms in the financial sector; more companies in the financial sector will adopt the use of blockchain. The reason behind the adoption is because of the real-time benefits these blockchains will offer them.
4. Privatization and automation: the adoption of blockchains will transform various sectors with automation, tokenization, and digitalization of various assets and tokens.
5. There will be a tremendous push in the Middle East and Asia: it is predicted that institutions will move forward with blockchain services and projects. Some large banks in South Korea and Japan have started testing different blockchain technologies that will ensure that international transfers are processed the same day. They are also seeking to reduce the cost of transaction.

CONCLUSION

Blockchains have been used by various platforms to achieve and solve certain problems that have affected the society. The adoption of these blockchains by firms in the finance sector will ensure faster and less expensive transactions. Also, more features are expected of these blockchains and will be added soon.