While citizens and businesses get used to this new reality, development continues merrily. In 2017, the newspapers were full of reports about Bitcoin, in 2018 the real value of blockchain as the technical infrastructure of tomorrow will become apparent and we will increasingly use smart bots and super easy smart assistants . This development forces companies to think even harder about who they are and how they can have all the necessary digital expertise to keep up with it all. In short: plenty to do!
Prediction 1. Crypto is much more than just a bubble
2017 was undeniably the year of Bitcoin. With its meteoric price rise and accompanying speculation about “the bubble,” Bitcoin became the face of the crypto world. But while headlines were filled with the Bitcoin gold rush , the real news was largely ignored. Bitcoin’s underlying system, the blockchain, is evolving at a rapid pace.
Bitcoin is a crypto-currency. Without a doubt the most famous, but certainly not the only one. There are literally hundreds. While some crypto-coins are known purely as an alternative to 'regular' currencies, most crypto-coins are connected to start-ups.
To give a serious example: the top-5 coin uk whatsapp number Ripple (the coin itself is called XRP) is intended to make transactions between banks faster and cheaper. That's right: no shady darknet practices, but banks. Because make no mistake, Ripple already works with American Express, Merryll Lynch and Santander, among others.
Crypto
And there are more: Stellar (coin: XLM) gives users in developing countries access to faster and cheaper financial transactions. In addition, applications go beyond financial transactions alone. The Dutch Guts wants to build ticket systems on the blockchain, so that ticket counterfeiting finally becomes completely impossible.
What is the common thread of these initiatives? Firstly, they apply blockchain to everyday issues. Secondly, they use tokens that you can buy, save and trade among each other. Sometimes purely intended as a form of share issuance (a so-called 'ICO' or Initial Coin Offering), sometimes as an alternative 'means of payment' (such as Bitcoin) or sometimes intended as an internal currency with which participants in a blockchain system are rewarded for validating transactions.