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In 2018, Blockchain and cryptocurrency exploded through technology. We spoke with the author of Packt Harish Garg on what they see as Blockchain's future in 2019 and beyond.
Harish Garg, founder of BignumWorks Software LLP, is a data scientist and software developer with 17 years of experience in the software industry. BignumWorks is a software consulting company based in India that provides consulting services in software development and technical training. Harish has worked for McAfee Intel for over 11 years. He is an expert in creating data visualizations using R, Python and Web-based view libraries.
Find all the books by Harish Garg for Packt here.
From the first users to the business
What do you think is the biggest development of the blockchain in 2018?
The biggest development in Blockchain in 2018 was the explosion of digital currencies based on Blockchain. Now we have thousands of coins and different projects supported by these coins. 2018 was also the year in which Blockchain captured the imagination of the general public, beyond only the precocious technical experts. 2018 was also the first to see a dramatic rise in the price of digital currencies, especially Bitcoin and then a similar dramatic decline in the last half of the year.
Do you think that 2019 is the year when the company embraces the blockchain? Why?
Absolutely. The first adoption of the blockchain Enterprise is already under way in 2018. Companies like IBM have already released and matured their Blockchain offers for companies. 2018 also saw the great colossus of Cloud Services, Amazon Web Services, which launched its Blockchain solutions. We are at the peak of a wider adoption of Blockchain in businesses in 2019.
Key challenges Blockchain in 2019
What do you think are the main challenges in implementing blockchain technology and how will developers be able to address them in 2019?
There have been two schools that are emerging on the way the blockchain is perceived. On the one hand, there are people who launch Blockchain as a kind of final utopia, the ultimate solution to solve all the problems of humanity. And on the other side of the spectrum, there are people who dismiss Blockchain as another fading trend with nothing substantial to offer. These two types of schools represent the biggest challenge for the success of Blockchain technology. The truth is that somewhere lies between these two. Developers must take Blockchain's work of evangelism into their own hands and ensure that the right kinds of expectations for policy makers and customers are established.
The Bitcoin bubble and more regulators' control have made blockchain projects less viable or provide a firmer technology base for the technology? Why?
Bitcoin has called for much scrutiny by legislators and governments, even without the bubble. Bitcoin reverses the notion of a nation state that controls the supply of money. So obviously, different governments are reacting to it with a wide range of actions, ranging from the absolute ban on using existing banking systems to buy and sell Bitcoin and other digital currencies in some countries by putting in place a legal framework to allow their citizens to trade securely them.
The biggest fear they have is black money pumped into digital currencies. With the correct KYC procedures, these fears can be removed. However, governments and financial institutions are also understanding the advantages offered by Blockchain in streamlining their banking and financial markets and are launching pilot projects for the adoption of Blockchain.
Blockchain and interruption in 2019
Will Ethereum continue to dominate the industry or are there new platforms that you think are a serious challenge? Why?
Ethereum has an advantage for the first mover. However, we know that the first advantage moved is not a big gap to be crossed for new competitors. Probably there will be competing and larger platforms to emerge from Facebook, Amazon and IBM that will solve the scalability problems that Ethereum faces.
What are the industries that blockchain technology is more likely to stop in 2019 and why?
Finance and Banking are still the biggest industries that will see an explosion of creative output products thanks to the adoption of Blockchain technology. Products for governmental use will be large, especially where there is a need for an unchangeable source of truth, as in the case of land registry records.
Do you have any other ideas on the future of the blockchain that you would like to share?
We are at a very early stage of the adoption of Blockchain. It is very difficult to predict at this time what kind of killer app will emerge a few years after the line. No one predicted that smartphones in 2007 will give life to Apps like Uber. The important thing is to have the right mix of optimism and skepticism.
