Have you been wondering what Blockchain technology holds in its pockets this year? Understated are the Blockchain emerging trends for the year 2022.

At the moment, Blockchain is one of the top-notch technology trends with potential across a range of uses. Blockchain is predominantly an encrypted and distributed variant of the database, solving different issues about online trust and security. While people around the world, associate the Blockchain with cryptocurrencies, we see several other uses in logistics, supply chain management safeguards against activities like identity thefts, and smart contracts implementation.

Therefore, tech enthusiasts are trying to find out the top blockchain trends for this year and to identify how the said technology will evolve further. Would there be a massive ripple effect for this technology’s future in 2022 or what will be the new uses of blockchain etc? The underlined discussion will be an effort to get reliable answers to the above-mentioned questions reflecting the blockchain top trends in 2022.

Top trends to be seen in 2022:

It is an agreed-upon fact that Blockchain is now more than the basis of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The scope of Blockchain is expanding with every passing day. The main reason for the adoption of Blockchain is the transparent and secure data exchange in different cases. However, New Year brings fresh and novice changes in the Blockchain landscape. Will 2022 be the growth year for Blockchain or will there be new challenges presented for this technology? Underlined are the few top trends which may create a huge impact on Blockchain.

Eco-friendly Blockchain:

The use of huge amounts of energy is one of the foremost setbacks for Blockchain’s future. Hence Blockchain is facing the issue of continuous carbon emission levels. Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, announced in 2021 that his company will not accept Bitcoin as payment. Consequently, the focus of Blockchain trends in 2022 would be to introduce eco-friendly Blockchain or greener Blockchain.

One of the ways to introduction of eco-friendly Blockchain among the trends would be to focus on lesser energy-intensive based models. For instance, Blockchain networks may shift towards Proof-of-stake models from Proof-of-work models to achieve consensus. Ethereum, one of the biggest networks of Blockchain is expects to adopt the Proof-of-Stake model in 2022.

Central banks Digital Currencies:

It was until a few years back, when adoption of cryptocurrencies and Blockchain solutions appeared to be unrealistic. Moreover, practically, it was impossible to think that countries will accept cryptocurrencies as a legal way of payment. El Salvador is known to be the first country in 2021 to adopt Bitcoin as a legal payment method. Bitcoin could be used for paying employees’ salaries, and as payment for goods and services.

According to industry experts, possibilities are that developing countries may adopt Bitcoin as a legal way of payment. Another promising area for Blockchain in 2022 is evident in the concept of national cryptocurrencies. This concept relates to Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) suggesting that central banks will create their specific coins and not choose the decentralized coins.

The focus of these projects is on digital currencies, which can easily work alongside traditional currencies. In this way, the central banks may maintain the value of the national currency token in parallel to the traditional currency.    

Supply Chain:

The global pandemic no doubt has hit the world hard in 2021, and it would not be wrong to say that last year was all about fighting and recovering from the impacts of Covid. 2022 will not be any different and Covid would remain the top priority. The focus of the top trends of 2022 would be to tackle this global pandemic. Similarly, Blockchain trends this year would emphasize the Covid vaccine manufacturing, distribution, and tracking.

Manufacturing, distribution, and selling of fake Covid vaccinations have become a complicated issue for global pandemic management. Blockchain here serves as a perfect mechanism to verify the vaccine’s authentic shipments. Moreover, Blockchain can facilitate in tracing the vaccine distribution ensuring that it reaches the desired locations. Last but not the least, the Blockchain future related to Covid vaccine (manufacturing and distribution) will be to verify the integrity of vaccines at different stages in the supply chain. For instance, it can help to ensure consistent vaccine storage at the required temperature.

IBM has developed a strong system enabling coordination among the healthcare authorities and agencies held responsible for vaccine distribution. It allows Blockchain to combine and document rates of vaccination as well as efficiencies from various platforms used by healthcare agencies and authorities.

Consequently, it is assure that Blockchain may be a game-changing technology for the supply chain industry. Enhanced globalization has led to a more complex distribution process than ever. It has created new challenges in the field of supply chain management. Blockchain networks can be used to create automation and more transparency in supply chain procedures globally.

Rising trends of Metaverse:

Since the year 2021 witnessed a rise related to Metaverse discussions, the Blockchain trends for the year 2022 will boost the metaverse. It has been several years now that we have been seeing the possibilities related to the virtual world in Sci-fi novels. Finally, this concept of Metaverse has been turned into reality with several platforms having huge user bases. Metaverse is a virtual, shared world offering immersive experiences. Digital avatars, which facilitate interaction among people, creating in-world objects, experiences, and landscapes can interact in this virtual world.

Technological world platforms such as Microsoft, Facebook, Epic games, etc; are showing keen interest in Metaverse. So how is metaverse related to Blockchain trends in 2022? Well, decentralization is one of the foremost aspects in this regard. It is known to ensure seamless access to this virtual world and enhanced transparency. What else can be better than Blockchain to create decentralized networks? Moreover, the metaverse largely relies on Blockchain abilities to ensure user privileges along with verifiable provenance. Above all, the Blockchain infrastructure connects the crypto economy with metaverse economies.

Industry experts assume that the metaverse is still too far away from becoming fully functional as a digital parallel to the real world. In 2022, the focus of Blockchain would largely be on technological support by giants of tech companies for the metaverse.

NFTs are the next BIG THING:

Non-Fungible tokens abbreviated as NFTs are known to be the biggest arrivals in the Blockchain landscape of 2021. In February 2021, one of the NFTs was sold for $69 million. Since then the world just could not stop discussing NFTs. NFTs are a critical highlight in response to the “future of Blockchain”. As we observe the NFT art being sold at gigantic prices during auctions; the world has been introduced to a whole new concept of digital tokens on Blockchain.

Interestingly, promising use cases are discovered in the music industry. Several well-known artists, for instance; Kings of Leon, Grimes, and Shawn Mendes; have their tracks released as NFTs.

Another potential NFTs use case among Blockchain predictions for 2022 is gaming. The NFTs application in this regard has been evident in play-to-earn games e.g. Axie Infinity. The players in these games allows to “mint” their NFT creatures called Axies; and enter the competitions. There are almost more than 300,000 active players showing how NFTs are used as more than digital art. It would be interesting to know that during the Pandemic, unemployed People in the Philippines used the Axie Infinity for trading NFTs and earning income for their day-to-day expenses.

Another critical highlight of the future of Blockchain applications is in the fashion industry. Brands like Dolce & Gabbana, and Nike; have created clothing and footwear with NFTs.

Final Verdict:

Blockchain is undeniably the most advanced technology talked about these days. It has successfully enhanced transparency, security, data immutability, and accessibility as compared to traditional networks. However, it is worth stating here that though Blockchain is instrumental in deriving changes across various sectors; it is still in evolving phase.

Hence, it is essential to observe the Blockchain trends closely to navigate the details of the Blockchain landscape. The Blockchain traits prove their capabilities to serve a futuristic technology-based intervention. Similarly, the Blockchain trends of 2022 showcase how it is changing every year.

The notable Blockchain trends which appear to create an impact in 2022 include the movement towards eco-friendly Blockchain networks. Expanding the use of NFTs is going to be another highlight in 2022. Moreover, the acceptance of cryptocurrency as one of the legal tenders seem to be marking a prominent highpoint for the overall Blockchain landscape for the year 2022.