Can you believe it? A seasoned techie like me, who’s been on the frontline of blockchain’s uproarious evolution, is telling you to fasten your seatbelt. Why? Well, it’s only because 2020 is likely to rock the boat with all the crazy things anticipated to happen in the blockchain world…and then some!
1. BACK TO THE FUTURE – ETHERUEM MEETS BROADBAND
Remember the good ol’ days of snail-paced dial-up internet? Oh, the anticipation of waiting to hear that static crackle signalling that you were online. Yeah, we’ve come a long way, haven’t we? Well, it feels a wee bit like those days in the blockchain world right now. It’s plain, slow, yet bursting with potential. Looking back, who could’ve thought that an hour spent downloading a single megabyte of data would one day be a scarce memory we’d scoff at over brunch meetups? It’s just like that with blockchain. With Ethereum 2.0 on the horizon, we’re poised for a giant leap from blockchain dial-up to blockchain broadband. Ready or not, here we come!
2. BLOCKCHAIN AND BITCOIN: A PARTING OF WAYS
Bitcoin, being the daddy of digital assets, deserves a round of applause. But hey, it seems an unanticipated surprise is just around the corner, don’t ya think? With blockchains becoming more scalable, the distinction between Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other decentralized technologies will become clearer than a summer sky. Essentially, Bitcoin is like a gold nugget in the digital era whereas Ethereum is like a bouquet of endless possibilities ready to bloom in the digital economic landscape.
3. GLOBAL RECESSION RISKS: EVERY FIAT CURRENCY’S NIGHTMARE
Nowadays, we sleep with one eye open as economic instability looms overhead, like an insomniac’s bad dream, right? It’s not an “if” anymore. The question should be “when” will a major recession strike? Europe seems to be walking on thin ice at the moment. Back home, the tides seem to depend heavily on potential trade deals and election seasons. Yet, amidst all this instability, it might just be cryptocurrencies that are our knight in shining armor, shielding us from central banks’ recurrent habit of printing (and devaluing) money in troubled times.
4. CHINA TAKES THE LEAD—THE U.S. HAS SOME CATCHING UP TO DO
Looks like China isn’t playing around. Recent regulatory decisions there suggest they have quite the affinity for blockchain and cryptocurrencies. While the U.S. and others are ‘toing and froing’ on backing blockchain, China is pulling up its sleeves to dominate the field. This game of catch-up surely fosters industry-wide growth, don’t you agree?
5. ETHEREUM 2.0 IS WITHIN REACH
Heads up! Ethereum’s highly anticipated Istanbul hard fork has been deployed successfully, and the subsequent Muir Glacier update took care of difficulty bomb delays. In simple words, this is akin to putting the pedal to the metal. The shift from the snug confines of Phase 0 to the exploration of Phase 1 marks the beginning of our journey through the realm of truly decentralized technology. Ethereum’s developer community deserves applause for consistently showing ambition with each step, even if it may come across as slow. Better safe than sorry, right?
6. LAYER TWO SOLUTIONS: ETHEREUM’S UNSUNG HERO
Just like Shrek made us believe that onions have layers, blockchain does too! Post Istanbul hard fork, Ethereum is locked, loaded and churning forward to achieve the scalability we are all promising. Despite the immediate spotlight being trained on sharding, other components like state channels and sidechains are contributing their bit to Ethereum’s leap forward. Looks like there’s no holding this back behemoth back; we are on our way to the future!
7. THE WEB3.0 STACK BECOMES EVIDENT
Web3.0 is more than just running shards and nodes. It’s an interconnected network of smart contracts, payments, sidechains, among other things. Well, gear up, because that’s the reality of 2020. Consider this for a second, wouldn’t it be amazing to be logged into decentralized browsers transacting peer-to-peer while reducing costs and growing as a user directly? It’s not some far-off sci-fi dream – it’s here today!
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Wow, can’t believe we’ve made it to the end. And what a year it’s going to be, folks! Blockchain technology is hurtling down its path at warp speed. We’ve survived the wild ride that was 2017 and 2018, straightened up during 2019, and now it’s time to charge into the roaring 2020s like we mean business. Ready, set, go!
Please note that these are my personal opinions and are not investment advice or solicitation, in case you were wondering.
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