Can blockchain technology really change the world? Well, it largely depends on who is asked. Some like Bill Briggs, technology chief at Deloitte Consulting, view it quite positively. Briggs comments, “We’re bullish on blockchain as part of a broader digital transition for public and private companies.” Even longtime bitcoin skeptic Jamie Dimon has since backpedaled from prior bearish comments, saying, “The blockchain is real,” Dimon added in the interview. “You can have cryptodollars in yen and stuff like that. ICOs … you got to look at everyone individually… I just have a different opinion than other people.” Dimon’s JPMorgan, ironically enough, has its own blockchain-based system.
In contrast, others aren’t impressed with where blockchain is to date. A respected author at one of the well-known crypto-news publication, for example, writes “it has been 10 years since Blockchain technology came into the open, and yet we still don’t really have a major use for it… as we stand here today, almost 10 years on since Blockchain technology was truly birthed, there is no one sector where this ledger has taken over and rendered its competitors obsolete. The ideas are great, but the execution of this game-changing technology is still too slow.” In other words, there’s been a lot of talk, but not as much action. For the blockchain revolution to be an actual revolution, there needs to be tangible, rapid growth.
Managing Risk or Stifling Growth?
Part of this lack of development stems from the risks associated with blockchain technology. As more and more countries crack down on the nascent industry, companies are constantly having to find new ways to progress despite a shifting regulatory environment. Regulation can inhibit growth and stifle creativity, all in the name of “protection”. What’s more, today’s blockchains don’t run as efficiently as one might expect. They are prone to security breaches, hard forks that forever alter a blockchain’s forward trajectory and even smart contract weaknesses that can plague even the best platforms.
Some companies, however, aren’t thrown off track by the risks blockchains pose. In fact, some are taking them on head-on. The Qtum platform, for example, is a unique blockchain network designed for businesses. It has several key features that will allow it to become the blockchain of business, creating a way for new players to enter this exciting frontier.
Could the Qtum Platform Have the Answers?
One of Qtum’s most novel solutions is their Decentralized Governance Protocol (DGP). The DGP is designed so that a blockchain’s individual parameters can be updated through specially designed smart contracts. This can be done without disrupting the current ecosystem. In essence, the network, through its smart contracts, can govern and correct itself on the fly. Ideally, this will decrease if not eliminate network forks and will make on-chain maintenance and implementation extremely efficient. The applications of the DGP’s self-correcting smart contracts are theoretically limitless–for example, they could be used to update block size as according to the network’s needs.
In addition to the DGP, the Qtum blockchain is one of the most flexible systems in the market. This is because the Qtum blockchain is a Bitcoin / Ethereum hybrid, one that combines the best elements of both networks. The Qtum blockchain is a combination of the Bitcoin Core and the Ethereum Virtual Machine using a proof-of-stake consensus model. The modified Bitcoin Core provides top-quality security and protection while the virtual machine allows companies to develop smart contracts for their businesses. The hybrid blockchain will also be able to maintain compatibility with existing processes from the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks, so existing businesses can incorporate pre-existing models into the Qtum ecosystem.
Altogether, these features not only allow businesses to efficiently run dApps and process transactions across networks, but they protect users as well. The PoS protocol prevents a network takeover from happening, while the presence of self-correcting smart contracts ensures that peer-to-peer interactions are secure and transparent.
The status of blockchain today might not be where it could be, but that doesn’t mean the future isn’t bright. If more platforms like Qtum enter the crypto scene, there is a very real chance that blockchain technology will hit the mainstream in full stride–much like the internet did in the 1990s. As The Street wisely notes, “After all, there were plenty of risks to the nascent internet — and look where we are now.”