Top blockchain trends to look out for in 2021

Efforts to recover from COVID-19 have triggered a tsunami of innovations in work, collaboration, and service delivery – and shifted many customer behaviors, habits, and expectations. It has accelerated our transition into the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (i.e. Digital transformation). Blockchain technology among other technologies – AI, IoT, etc are likely to play a dominant role in setting new trends that emerges post-pandemic.

If you will look at the current pace and progress of blockchain development then the one thing that you can be sure about is the future of blockchain is not only safe but revolutionizing as well. Here are the top blockchain positive trends to look out for in 2021.

Blockchain related jobs will keep on increasing

The increasing number of apps along with the rapid diversification of blockchain has created many new opportunities for developers. With more and more firms looking forward to making the most of blockchain technology, the need for developers will increase significantly in the year 2021.

You will be surprised to know that in the current job market, blockchain-related jobs are the fastest-growing. As per Linkedin’s latest report, Blockchain is the number one in-demand skill. Candidates with blockchain skills are most sought out, surpassing other emerging technologies like cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Blockchain has emerged as a favorable business solution. Companies like IBM, Oracle, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Amazon, and American Express are all seeking candidates with blockchain experience. The rise of blockchain-related jobs will continue in 2021.

The use of blockchain in government agencies

A blockchain-based digital government can protect data, streamline processes, and reduce fraud, while simultaneously increasing efficiency, trust, and accountability. A blockchain-based government has the potential to solve legacy pain points and enable the following advantages:

• Secure storage of government, citizen, and business data
• Reduction of labor-intensive processes 
• Reduction of excessive costs associated with managing accountability
• Reduced potential for corruption and abuse
• Increased trust in government and online civil systems

Initially, the use of blockchain by government agencies has been considered a risky project and was practiced by small states only. Now more government agencies are expected to join the race to commence pilot projects centered around blockchain technology in 2021. For example,

• Japanese Finance minister recently said that blockchain is going to be very effective for the global fight against the deadly virus.
• Vietnam is using blockchain to accelerate digital transformation.
• South Korea is using blockchain for adapting over millions of driver licenses.

Blockchain practical application and adoption

Due to the increased strain that the COVID-19 pandemic put on day-to-day business, there is a dire need for corporates to accelerate their digital transformation process to emerge stronger than before. Blockchain technology is very likely to make the most transformative and dramatic changes in the way businesses function.

In 2021, we could see most of the blockchain-based application patents from corporations like the ones filed by Walmart and Nike come to life. According to Gartner, more than 40% of the surveyed corporates have at least one blockchain pilot running. They predict that 30% of global projects will make it into production, partly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With its ability to create more transparency and fairness while also saving businesses time and money, the technology is impacting a variety of sectors in ways that range from how contracts are enforced to making business models more efficient. Some of the prominent blockchain applications we could see trending in 2021 are:

• Healthcare industry to secure sharing of medical data
• Supply chain
• Use of smart contract to process vendor payments
• IoT devises data exchange
• Securities issuance
• Music royalties tracking
• Voting mechanism
• Content ownership record

Rise in Private Blockchain Networks

In recent years, Blockchain has been heralded as a major disrupter on track to rattle almost every industry from agriculture and manufacturing to Finance, Oil and Gas industry. While in many cases, the technology’s promise can be clearly seen, however, for the vast majority of enterprise use-case, the companies require a different record-keeping system that hides sensitive information from the public. This need could bring focus on the permission – private blockchain network and Zero-Knowledge proof.

The leading platforms at the end of 2021-22 will be those that can offer a unique combination of features and consortia building enterprise-level solutions.

Increase in Blockchain interoperability related research

Blockchain networks are not inherently open and are not able to communicate properly with each other. There are a large number of blockchain projects, all of which have different characteristics – such as hashing algorithms, or consensus models. This has resulted in a series of unconnected blockchain networks, preventing the industry from reaching its full potential.

Currently, there are a number of blockchain projects which are working on solving this challenge most notably Polkadot, Cosmos, API3. It will enable data to be swapped across different blockchain networks. For instance, a school’s academic records chain saved in a private blockchain could send degree-verification on a public blockchain. Such functionality will give rise to cross-chain dApps. Also, opportunities to partner with similar category dApps from different blockchain networks to collaborate and exchange information, thereby increasing individual dApp business value.

Much of the research work around blockchain interoperability has been around technical and semantic. Technical interoperability regards the technical mechanisms that enable integration among blockchains. While semantic interoperability is concerned with how the application-specific semantics can be conserved across blockchains.

In 2021, the research on other interoperability layers – legal, governance, etc will also rise to create a higher degree of interoperability framework.

Accelerate research on CBDC

The coronavirus (COVID-19) shock has accelerated the trend towards digitalization, leading to a surge in online transactions and contactless payments. This trend is likely to persist once the pandemic is over. Many central banks worlwide are exploring the possibility of launching their own digital currency. This process will intensify in 2021 and will be primarly focused on exploreing the interconnection between distributed ledger system and existing centralised system

According to a recent BIS report, 80% of central banks worldwide are researching digital currency pros and cons. China is in the advanced stages of rolling-out its digital currency and has already performed a couple of experiments.

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2020 has proven to be a good year for all crypto markets and blockchain, and expectations are for 2021 to be even a better year for Blockchain.

If you will look at the current pace and trends of blockchain development despite unfavorable government policy, then the one thing that you can be sure about is the future of blockchain is not only safe but revolutionizing as well. As we enter 2021 and adapt to a new normal, corporation focus on digital transformation will definitely set the stage for blockchain adoption.