Blockchain – the technology underpinning digital currency (such as Bitcoin and Ethereum) and used for handling secure data and transactions – will continue to grow in value over the coming years. What does the future of blockchain look like?

It first appeared in 2009 and has since emerged and matured as a mainstream technology. Its roots lie in crypto currency, but its value has been recognised by many other sectors. Blockchain is now the go to tech for just about every sector with an eye to the future. It’s making a tangible impact and creating practical, workable, secure solutions across the board.

• Blockchain’s net value is around US$20 billion (2015), or 0.025% of the world’s US$80 trillion GDP (World Economic Forum).

• It’s expected to rise to 10% of the world’s GDP by 2027 (World Economic Forum).

• 84% of business executives believe that blockchain will eventually become mainstream (Deloitte).

• 77% of incumbent financial institutions plan to use blockchain as part of their core strategy in the next 3–5 years (PwC).

• 90% of American and European banks are investing in blockchain for security (MedySIF).

• 40 million users have a blockchain wallet (as of June 2019), up from 25 million in June 2018 (Statista).

• 450 million blockchain transactions as of September 2019 (Blockchain).

Hybrid and multi-cloud blockchains – stepping out of blockchain in the provider’s cloud to hybrid and multi-cloud solutions. Key benefits are lower costs and protection against cyber-attacks.

Interoperability – sharing data and other information across multiple blockchain systems will enable people to see and access data across different blockchain networks.

Social media – data control, privacy and content relevance are all hot topics and introducing blockchain in social media will solve many of these problems.

Content streaming – streaming services such as Netflix will be able to incorporate blockchain technology to store user data securely.

Top 50 blockchain app development companies.