Future of Blockchain: One Block at a Time

Fintech is an umbrella term that describes many technologies. It encompasses everything from blockchain to big data. And so the question becomes, how does blockchain fit into the bigger picture of fintech. In today’s article, I aim to share just how blockchain fills an important role, the future of blockchain and how it reaches its full potential when combined with other technologies.

Recap of One Block at a Time

In this series, we covered a couple of strengths of blockchain. We saw how a blockchain is just a tool that fundamentally builds trust. We noticed that authenticity and effective value capture are some of the cornerstones of blockchain – and combining all of these characteristics – we have a technology that is extremely versatile and flexible.

However, we have also noted that blockchain isn’t a magical solution to all problems. That sometimes blockchain isn’t a suitable technology. Often, blockchain is the right technology but implemented in the wrong way.

Block #1: The Right Way

Indeed, blockchain is an incredible technology that has massive potential. But despite all that potential, we see that a lot of the time – blockchain isn’t worth it. We see this comes primarily from two reasons.

It’s simply too expensive for businesses to implement
It’s too costly to overhaul old legacy systems

Imagine this, you buy an iPhone out of the box, and you set it up exactly how the instructions say. You bought it because of its excellent camera, fantastic screen and its utility. Subsequently, you paid a ridiculous amount of money for it – and now it’s yours. But there’s one problem.

You can’t download any apps. Suddenly, the value of your iPhone has dropped dramatically – you ask why on Earth you paid so much for something so useless. Would a modern iPhone without apps be superior to a Samsung that’s 3 generations old, that had apps?

Similarly, blockchain is still developing – it is an iPhone that doesn’t have a lot of apps yet. A lot of people see it as an isolated technology – but it’s not. Blockchain unlocks its true potential when combined with other amazing technologies.

Block #2: The Right Technologies

In a previous article, we discussed what role blockchain fills. We have seen that blockchain is great for record-keeping and transaction management. Subsequently, blockchain can build trust through its various features.

[blockchain fits into the fintech ecosystem as a trust builder]

Think about it, blockchain – at its core – is a technology that enables trust. Its core features allow blockchain to be the middleman between various tech – ensuring that the information they pass between each other is valid and dependable.

Some examples of technologies that integrate well with blockchain include:

Internet of Things
Artificial Intelligence
Mobile Payments
Open Banking

For a compelling list of companies using blockchain in the real world – click here.

The Future of Blockchain

Blockchain is an exciting technology that has a lot going for it. But it’s all about implementation. The value blockchain brings, needs to be higher than the cost to implement it. Although a pretty obvious idea, it is a crucial one. That additional value generally comes from combining blockchain with existing concepts in new & exciting ways. After some development of new use-cases – the future of blockchain will be a technology that almost every business, institution and organization will want to use.

The conclusion to the series

Throughout this series, I have tried to describe and explain blockchain in an easy to understand and bite-size manner. Blockchain is intimidating for many people to get started, but it certainly isn’t impossible. Understanding how this revolutionary technology works will put you in a better position to see how the finance, medical, education, supply chain, management, agriculture and every industry in between – can be influenced.

Thank you for being a part of the ChingCo community, and I look forward to sharing more exciting topics with you! Sign up to my mailing list to be notified of the latest fintech developments worldwide.

Nicholas Ching

Creative, hardworking & team-oriented. I work well in teams and am able to code proficiently in multiple languages. I specialise in innovative technologies, problem analysis and creative solutions. My upbringing in South Africa and Chinese Culture have given me a unique global outlook and an ability to communicate with others.