Blockchain will become a reality in 2016

Leaving the lab

2015 is the most important year for blockchain. People's skeptical attitude towards blockchain technology is changing, and the number of people who are optimistic about the potential of blockchain technology is increasing.

Many respondents said 2016 will see this trend continue and accelerate, with many predicting that some lab prototypes will become reality after continued enthusiasm from venture capitalists.

We hope to see the application scenarios of blockchain in real life, the emergence of new application cases, and a continuous increase in products launched by financial institutions and blockchain companies.

In the past year, large financial institutions have participated in the development of blockchain multi-signature proof of concept ( PoC ). Deloitte expects that many large financial institutions will test the application of blockchain technology (for example, cross-border payments, trade settlements, etc.) in 2016 and launch related products.

Whether through internal blockchain labs, direct collaboration with blockchain tech companies, or collaboration with platforms (e.g., Deloitte’s Rubix platform) , many financial institutions will see products that used to be in the fantasy and testing stages enter the product development phase.

We also believe that the full potential of blockchain has yet to be fully realized.

We recently launched the Augur prediction market or the Symbiont trading platform. We will continue to explore the blockchain space, and our experts expect that blockchain will continue to move forward in the coming year.

The Age of Consortiums, Alliances, and Governments

At a stage where innovation and solutions are developing rapidly, collaboration among many established companies, startups, consortiums and regulators is key to their success in this industry.

In addition, multi-party participation is a key condition for the success of blockchain technology, and this trend will become more obvious in blockchain development in 2016 .

New York-based R3 is one of a high-profile consortium of more than 40 companies working on a project to drive innovation and set standards for financial services.

In the Internet age, regulatory agencies have entered our daily lives to create and set standards to ensure that we operate accurately. Similarly, in 2016 , blockchain will be managed and set standards, especially for public blockchains. This is also an effective way for blockchain to be widely used.

Some companies are also providing “ network leadership ” in this space – that is, helping to connect different players in the ecosystem and benefit from this large forum where they can promote themselves and share knowledge.

Deloitte is currently playing an important role in the blockchain industry and is committed to becoming an important player in the advancement of blockchain. This collaboration has been explored and formed at some major conferences, such as Money 20/20 , SXSW and the World Economic Forum.

Choosing the right team and partners will be a challenge for organizations to benefit from blockchain technology.

Next-generation platform

Deloitte experts predict that the ultimate trend will be the proliferation of next-generation platforms, such as Ethereum and interoperability platforms.

We have seen many interesting use cases where smart contracts are integrated with existing trends, such as the Internet of Things, and we hope to see them operational in 2016 .

An example of this is the decentralized application Slock . Slock demonstrates the potential of smart contract decentralized autonomous organizations ( DAOs ) through the Ethereum Computer .

Equally important is the increase in interoperable blockchain platforms. As many financial institutions choose to build private federated blockchains , interoperable platforms will become possible in the future.

Credits recently partnered with the Linux Foundation to develop an open source platform, and Deloitte’s Rubix platform and Colu have collaborated to explore the interoperability of colored coins, which is essential to the long-term effectiveness of this technology.

We predict that 2016 will be the year blockchain technology becomes a reality.