By now, it’s well understood that blockchains can be more than substrates for cryptocurrencies. The ‘blockchains to beat’ are those offering powerful platform features, acceptable security and decentralization, and operating sufficiently quickly — these are the ‘blockchain 3.0’ contenders.
But we think it’s time to look beyond blockchain as a platform, and learn to see it as a business ecosystem. That’s blockchain 4.0.
What is blockchain 4.0 ?
Blockchain 4.0 is a new generation of blockchain technology. It promises to deliver blockchain as a business-usable environment for creating and running applications, bringing the technology fully mainstream.
Previous iterations of blockchain technology have had obvious potential advantages for businesses: security, automated record-keeping and immutability, plus the potential to pay invoices, bills and wages inside a totally secure framework.
Unfortunately, blockchain had not previously overcome several major obstacles: speed was far too low, and only a small number of people had the specialized skills required to develop on the blockchain. Consumers, workers and businesses expect a user experience equivalent to web 2.0 apps; blockchain was struggling to deliver web 1.0, with familiar challenges to the first generation of web pioneers.
We refer to blockchains like Bitcoin as ‘blockchain 1.0,’ created with a single use in mind (supporting a cryptocurrency), slow and hard to use. Blockchain 2.0 would be one of the first post-Bitcoin blockchains that was developed to be able to do more than cryptocurrency; a blockchain like Ethereum, built deliberately to facilitate a range of activities and applications, would be ‘blockchain 3.0.’
Blockchain 4.0 takes that aspiration and delivers on it. If you can build apps that look and feel as good as web 2.0 apps, run as fast, and still preserve the unique advantages of blockchain technology, you have blockchain 4.0.
What does it mean for real businesses ?
A business with a great idea but without a lot of blockchain experience can build, implement and operate business Decentralized Applications (Dapps) on a 4.0 blockchain, without extensive blockchain developer skills.
That means you can build applications that contain permissions hierarchies, allowing you to choose who gets to see what; you can make and take payments inside the app, totally secure and immutably, automatically recorded; you can establish self-executing contracts for anything from stage deliverables in-house to contractor payments; and you can do it all inside an app that looks and feels as good, and runs as fast, as anything you’re used to seeing on the web.
What business opportunities does blockchain 4.0 provide ?
Blockchain 4.0 will allow businesses to move some or all of their current operations onto secure, self-recording applications based on decentralized, trustless and encrypted ledgers. Crucially, it brings the basic, inherent advantages of blockchain within reach of businesses for the first time.
Businesses currently lose around a quarter of worker time to administrative tasks. Of course these can be automated, usually by adding to your tech stack with a layer of ‘weak AI.’ But on the blockchain, they’re automated as a matter of course; it’s built right in. The danger of data loss is all but eliminated — a major relief when the average business data breach costs $3.6 million. And an immutable record means data is accurate, leading to better forecasting and planning.
These advantages are built into all blockchain technology, but without the ‘4.0’ feature set, businesses can’t access them.
However, there are additional business benefits unique to blockchain 4.0 ecosystems. An Integrated Development Framework (IDE) offers businesses the chance to build their own Dapps; cross-blockchain compatibility efforts mean most Dapps will run on multiple 4.0-level blockchains. And joining a blockchain 4.0 project gives businesses a say in how that project develops over time, as well as access to developers and other support.
Source:https://medium.com/
FAQs
Blockchain 4.0: Applications
What is blockchain in layman terms? ›
A blockchain platform is a shared digital ledger that allows users to record transactions and share information securely, tamper-resistant. A distributed network of computers maintains the register, and each transaction is verified by consensus among the network participants.
What is the blockchain explained simply? ›
Blockchain is an immutable digital ledger that enables secure transactions across a peer-to-peer network. It records, stores and verifies data using decentralized techniques to eliminate the need for third parties, like banks or governments. Every transaction is recorded, then stored in a block on the blockchain.
What is the fourth generation blockchain? ›
Blockchain 4.0 is a new generation of technology that delivers business usable blockchain environment for creating and running improved versions of decentralized applications.
What are the 4 types of blockchain? ›
There are four main types of blockchain networks: public blockchains, private blockchains, consortium blockchains and hybrid blockchains. Let's explore each of these platforms and its benefits, drawbacks and ideal uses.
What is the basic idea behind blockchain? ›
Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network. asset can be tangible (a house, car, cash, land) or intangible (intellectual property, patents, copyrights, branding).
What is an example of blockchain? ›
Retail. Retail companies use blockchain to track the movement of goods between suppliers and buyers. For example, Amazon retail has filed a patent for a distributed ledger technology system that will use blockchain technology to verify that all goods sold on the platform are authentic.
What is the blockchain simple? ›
A blockchain is “a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of ordered records, called blocks.” These blocks “are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data.
What is blockchain for dummies summary? ›
At its core, blockchain is an open, decentralized ledger that records transactions between two parties in a permanent way without needing third-party authentication. This creates an extremely efficient process and one people predict will dramatically reduce the cost of transactions.
What is the primary purpose of blockchain technology? ›
The purpose of the blockchain is to share information amongst all parties that access it via an application. Access to this ledger in terms of reading and writing may be unrestricted ('permissionless'), or restricted ('permissioned').
Big 4 and innovation: investments in technology are growing. The four largest accounting firms, Deloitte, EY, PwC, and KPMG, known as “the Big 4”, have initiated an internal revolution to implement new technologies and grow. The blockchain is the technology with which they push their business toward the future.
What is 5th generation blockchain? ›
Enter Everscale, the fifth-generation blockchain, heralding an era of environmental friendliness and unparalleled scalability. Operating on the PoS model Soft Majority Fault Tolerance (SMFT), Everscale boasts a staggering throughput of over a million TPS and notably low transaction fees.
What is blockchain 4? ›
Blockchain 4.0 will allow businesses to move some or all of their current operations onto secure, self-recording applications based on decentralized, trustless and encrypted ledgers. Crucially, it brings the basic, inherent advantages of blockchain within reach of businesses for the first time.
Is Bitcoin the same as blockchain? ›
Blockchain is the technology that enables the existence of cryptocurrency (among other things). Bitcoin is the name of the most recognized cryptocurrency, the one for which blockchain technology, as we currently know it, was created.
What is a potential downside of blockchain technology? ›
Despite its revolutionary impact, blockchain faces issues such as significant energy demands, scalability challenges, and complex integration with existing systems. Adopting more energy-efficient blockchain models, enhancing scalability, and simplifying integration processes are key to overcoming these disadvantages.
Why should we trust blockchain? ›
Without blockchain, each organization has to keep a separate database. Because blockchain uses a distributed ledger, it records transactions and data identically in multiple locations. All network participants with permissioned access see the same information at the same time, providing full transparency.
What is the blockchain in a simple way? ›
A blockchain is “a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of ordered records, called blocks.” These blocks “are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data.
How do you explain blockchain to your parents? ›
Tell them that a blockchain is like a digital ledger that keeps track of every transaction made with a coin. Also, tell them that a private key is like a password that allows you to access your funds. Once they understand these two terms, you can move on to explaining how the system works.
