The blockchain industry has come a long way.  From being dubbed as a dubious technology used by drug dealers and cartels, today it is considered to be a fantastic piece of technology that may grease the wheels of the technology landscape for a good amount of time.  

  

Basically a ledger technology, it lives on every device on which it is installed. And whenever any change is made in one particular ledger, the information simultaneously and flawlessly gets updated on every device. This parallel tracking and updating of information have led to the rise of decentralized currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Moving forward, Blockchain will not only shape consumer expectations it can also be used as a go-to-market strategy for data collection. 

Here, I walk you through 5 different Blockchain trends to watch out for in 2019. 

#1. Nailing down of Blockchain Use-Case Scenarios 

As it turns out, businesses are still skeptical about blockchain. They are still testing the blockchain waters by launching pilot projects, proofs-of-concept, among other things. They are trying to figure out the problem areas in their businesses that could positively be addressed with the intervention of Blockchain.   

Plus, focus will be on finding businesses that require the intervention of blockchain technology for smooth processing of operations. This is crucial because Blockchain is not required in all businesses. Other up-and-coming technologies such as robotics, AI, and machine learning may be a better fit over blockchain technology.      
 

Study of the use cases will help businesses in proper deployment of this technology. It will help businesses learn more about this technology and that it’s not synonymous with cryptocurrencies alone. Currently, a variety of businesses – are exploring the best uses of blockchain in supply chain transparency, ownership tracking, and others.   Consult top Blockchain technology companies to know whether this emerging technology best fits your business requirements.
 

#2. Blockchain will have to Work on its Image

Most of the organizations are not readily experimenting with blockchain because it has been widely criticized left, right and center. Many consider blockchain and cryptocurrencies as one.  

So for the wider adoption of this technology the industry needs to made aware of the differences between blockchain and cryptocurrencies and how to use blockchain outside the financial realm.

3]  Blockchain will have to offer more Business Functions 

It has been observed by industry experts that blockchain pilot projects have never been smooth. It always ran into problems. So the early adopters should try and learn from the initial challenges and adapt accordingly.

In recent times, many blockchain pilot projects have been shelved because of technical and human limitations. Regardless of the setbacks, smart organizations will have to learn and experiment in the coming months if they want to have an edge over their competitors.       

Nonetheless, blockchain use shouldn’t solely be restricted to IT.  It’s expected of all futuristic, forward-looking organizations to rope in experts to help them learn more about the technology and the kind of impact it will have on them now and in the years ahead.

4] Blockchain will need to meet Rising Customer Expectations
 

Consumer expectations are changing with regard to Blockchain. With tools such as HybridBlock, even lay people can keep themselves posted about blockchain and cryptocurrencies. 

What that means is that consumers and companies are more knowledgeable about blockchain and its capabilities like never before, and they are sure to demand products and services that operate in a decentralized manner.     

In light of this, Silicon Valley startups will be gearing to offer turnkey solutions, while developers, marketers, and businesses will be developing marketing tools and applications leveraging minimal blockchain knowledge.     

The technology is so shaped that it can safely and transparently share data between a large group of people without third-party monitoring.

Thanks to Blockchain, customers now have a better idea as to how corporations are managing their data and as well as track the origins of their items. Blockchain, in a way, is offering consumers a much-needed platform to hold centralized institutions accountable.

# Blockchain will help Customers Sell Data on Demand

The king among the tech companies, Amazon will be introducing double the number of voice assistants and AI-based technology to make customer interaction with brands seamless.
 

Sure, the small organizations do not have the luxury of large data that big companies can easily leverage to feed their machine learning algorithms. But that said, blockchain will help companies and consumers buy and sell data via decentralized yet transparent markets. For instance, a technology called Synapse allows customers to sell their data in return for SYN tokens. The companies, in turn, can track individual users. When done on a larger scale it will help build a full AI economy over a period of time.

Conclusion

There you go! 5 Blockchain trends to dominate 2019. So, if you thought you could give Blockchain a go-by in the coming year, think again. Rather, you need to buckle up and pivot to the blockchain, because this technology is here to stay. So study the use-case scenarios and see if Blockchain has an answer to your business needs.

 

Author bio: This is Jennifer Warren, a Content Consultant with GoodFirms, a review and research platform for eCommerce development companies, digital marketing companies among many others.  I enjoy humanizing technology through inspirational content, devouring best sellers, watching war movies, and running behind my sunshine sons.