In this blog post, I will explore the five biggest challenges faced by blockchain developers.
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value. It's been around for about 12 years now. It started to gain traction in 2016 when Bitcoin went mainstream during the election season.
Since then there have been more than $35 billion invested in blockchain startups with many corporations like Microsoft, IBM, JPMorgan Chase, and Walmart investing heavily into R&D. The US government also recently took steps toward regulating cryptocurrencies which should help legitimize them as well. But while there are lots of potential positive applications for blockchain technology, there are still some major hurdles that need to be overcome before it can reach mainstream adoption, including:
1. Scalability
Since blockchain is a decentralized system for verifying transactions, you'll need to have lots of computers working together in order to handle the volume of transactions being processed. This is one of the biggest hurdles that blockchain developers are trying to figure out right now because it's not currently capable of processing many transactions quickly enough.
2. Regulatory uncertainty
Blockchain technology could potentially make existing business models obsolete over time especially ones where intermediaries typically act as regulators. However since there are no regulations surrounding this space yet, it's difficult for both users and businesses to know how certain actions will be treated down the line by local authorities or courts.
3. Privacy concerns
Since blockchain is a decentralized system, it's harder to shut down or hack so users' personal data are more at risk. There have also been concerns with how companies are using blockchain technology to track users even though its original purpose was rooted in individual control and privacy.
4. Standardization
At the moment there are hundreds of different kinds of blockchains which makes communication between them difficult because they don't talk to each other very well currently. Standardizing this space would make it easier for developers to build platforms on top of blockchains without worrying about compatibility issues.
5. Scalability (again)
Running code on blockchain isn't an issue right now but when you need thousands of computers working together it becomes a challenge since not everyone has access to supercomputers. One way developers are trying to address this problem is by creating blockchain frameworks instead of blockchains themselves. This would allow users to run smaller portions of code on their own servers which would be more efficient in terms of processing power.
While there are lots of challenges facing blockchain developers, blockchain technology itself isn't going away any time soon given the amount of investment that's already gone into it along with its potential future applications. In the few years to come, it will be important for blockchain's development since many companies will likely release new versions of their platforms in order to take advantage of these trends. But while there are some obstacles standing in the way, if they can get past them then it could revolutionize business and finance over the next several decades.
All valid points. Regulators from the governments are trying hard to control the distributed ledger technologies. They can create obstructions by legal suits against the founders of the startup companies. There is enough doubt if they can manage to hold the core of the decentralized technology.