Coming Up: Inc42 Blockchain Technology Report 2018 To Decode The Hottest Technology For Both Pros And Noobs

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, said British science fiction writer, Arthur C Clarke.

Technology, when explored to its fullest potential and applied in the right spirit, really can be akin to magic. From things we’ve come to take for granted,  to pathbreaking innovations changing the face of agriculture, financial services, healthcare, education, and mobility — it is indeed technology that has woven its magic into our world.  One such technology with hitherto unfathomable potential which has been a buzz for a while now is blockchain.

Blockchain was invented by Sastoshi Nakamoto, the name used by the unknown person or people who developed Bitcoin, in 2008. Simply put, blockchain is a new, disruptive distributed ledger technology that is rapidly changing business models and becoming increasingly important in the world order.

This technology is undoubtedly the future, because it will bring decentralization, trust and accountability into different walks of life. India has the infrastructure and the entrepreneurial ecosystem to become the hotbed for blockchain technology development given that we can create a regulatory framework or sandbox to support it, said Rahul Raj, Co-Founder & CEO, Koinex

While this technology is being increasingly adopted by countries, industries, and people worldwide, there still seems to be a lot of confusion and scepticism around it.

To begin, with most people think blockchain and Bitcoin are synonymous, when, in fact, they’re complementary technologies. Blockchain, which was invented to account for Bitcoin, is an open, decentralised ledger that records transactions between two parties in a permanent way without needing third-party authentication. This creates an extremely efficient process that is expected to dramatically reduce the cost of transactions.

Consensus mechanism is the most vital aspect of blockchain technology. It fosters trust by ensuring that only appropriate stakeholders sanction transactions in a transparent manner. Once approved, the immutability of blockchain ledger ensures that recorded transactions cannot be tampered. The two aspects have immense applications in the sharing economy which cannot thrive without trust, said Ashwarya Pratap Singh, CEO & Co-founder, Drivezy

Inc42 Datalabs, the research division of Inc42, has been keeping a close eye on all the developments in blockchain, especially in India, for the last two years. Inc42 Datalabs has now culled and encapsulated its keen understanding of the technology along with deep insights into its applications — both existing and potential — to come out with a blockchain technology report 2018, with a key focus on India.

Inc42 is launching ‘The ‘Blockchain Technology Report 2018’  this week on 16 August, with a view to demystify blockchain and separate the reality from the hype. The blockchain technology report 2018 also addresses blockchain’s vast scope of applications, specifically exploring opportunities for it in India. It also aims to give an overview of cryptocurrencies to readers with limited or no knowledge of digital currencies.

Thing To Watch Out For In ‘The Blockchain Technology Report 2018

The report aims to deep dive into all the aspects of blockchain — from basics such as what the technology is all about, leading blockchain-based platforms and the problems they’re looking to solve to the importance of blockchain for Indian businesses and in governance.

Highlights of ‘Blockchain Technology Report 2018′

History: Blockchain was invented in 2008 to serve as the public transaction ledger of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. It was around 2014 that the tech community started exploring how blockchain could alter different kinds of operations. Many believe Bitcoin and blockchain are one and the same, but they’re not. Bitcoin is a decentralised digital currency or cryptocurrency without a central bank or single administrator. Blockchain, which was invented to account for Bitcoin, is an open, decentralised ledger that records transactions between two parties in a permanent way without needing third-party authentication.

What Blockchain means for India: With an increasing number of pilots and production-ready applications, Blockchain is ready to move to the next level in India. With government bodies, consulting firms, technology giants, and startups adopting the technology on multiple platforms, blockchain is sure to see exciting days ahead.

Policies surrounding blockchain: The Indian government and India’s central bank, the RBI, have decided to promote the use of blockchain in financial services for improving transparency and financial inclusion in the country. However, the government has taken a tough stance against the use of virtual currencies. In India, regulatory involvement in blockchain applications mostly revolves around cryptocurrencies.

Investors: In line with the global blockchain investors — Goldman Sachs, Google, Andreessen Horowitz, Digital Currency Group, Blockchain Capital, Draper Associates — a number of Indian investors have come forward to invest in Indian blockchain startups. A number of startups have in fact already closed significant funding and have stepped up from the Seed funding stage. The report brings in more details in this regard.

Blockchain For The Future

While blockchain seems to be the hottest technology trend doing the rounds these days, it comes with its fair share of challenges that the industry, governments, and users to overcome to be able to explore its full potential. One of the key challenges is the low awareness about the technology, especially in sectors other than banking. Even where people are aware of it, there is a lack of a true understanding of the nature and applications of blockchain.

Further,  there are a number of issues that need to be addressed by the ecosystem stakeholders to take blockchain projects from their PoC phase to commercially viable solutions. Also, in certain applications, crypto tokens become an essential way to generate consensus in blockchain (Public, in particular) — either by Proof of Stake (PoS) or Proof of Work (PoW). However, in the current scenario where regulations pertaining to cryptocurrencies ain’t clear, it will be difficult for startups to work on certain big projects, making safety and security without PoS and PoW, a major issue.

Nevertheless, regulatory bodies have taken cognisance of the potential of the technology and are forming working groups to aid and oversee its growth in India. With governments, consulting firms, technology giants, and startups adopting the technology across sectors to solve multiple problems, blockchain is sure to see exciting days ahead.

Blockchain has been the underlying technology used today in the commercialisation of a growing number of sectors. One should take this technology as seriously as the development of the Internet in the early 1990s since its hard to ignore the change it tends to bring about in the future, said Jatin Madhra, CEO, Bient Technologies.

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