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A new version of blockchain application development is emerging as blockchain 4.0. It aims to render blockchain a business-friendly environment for developing and running apps, thus, making it fully mainstream.
Challenges with Previous Iterations of Blockchain Technology
Previous iterations of blockchain technology have demonstrated clear potential benefits for organizations, including security, automatic record-keeping, immutability, and the ability to pay bills, wages, and invoices in a completely secure environment.
Unfortunately, blockchain has not yet overcome several significant challenges. For instance, the speed was much too slow, and very few individuals possessed the specialized skills necessary to develop the blockchain. Customers, employees, and organizations want a user experience that is comparable to web 2.0 applications; yet, blockchain was having trouble delivering web 1.0 due to difficulties that were known to the first generation of online pioneers.
Blockchains like Bitcoin are referred to as "blockchain 1.0," slow and challenging to use and designed with a particular purpose in mind (supporting a cryptocurrency). Blockchain 2.0 would be one of the first post-Bitcoin blockchains that were created to be capable of more than just bitcoin; "blockchain 3.0" would be a blockchain like Ethereum, constructed specifically to enable a variety of activities and applications.
Also, Read | A prefatory guide to Blockchain 2.0
Blockchain 4.0
Concerning that aim, Blockchain 4.0 succeeds. Blockchain 4.0 is the ability to create applications that perform and look as beautiful as web 2.0 applications while retaining the special benefits of blockchain technology.
Blockchains in their third generation are still developing and securing their market positions. Is it too soon to talk about Blockchain 4.0 then? It is not due to Blockchain's current rapid advancement. Blockchain technology has moved past the research and testing stages and is currently in the implementation and growth stages. Blockchain 3.0 mostly concentrated on resolving problems with second-generation blockchains, whereas Blockchain 4.0 focuses on using blockchain to innovate. As firms in various industries use Blockchain at a greater rate, we should anticipate rapid improvements in this area.
Blockchain 4.0 aims to scale up Blockchain as a commercially viable platform for developing and executing more advanced and well-known decentralized applications. The main focus areas for Blockchain 4.0 will be speed, user experience, and use by a wider and more widespread audience.
Also, Read | Emerging Blockchain Use Cases and Solutions across Industries
Blockchain 4.0 Applications
Applications for blockchain 4.0 can be divided into three categories: Web 3.0, Metaverse, and Industry 4.0.
Foundation for Fourth Industrial Revolution
We can consider the concept of Blockchain 4.0 as the driving force behind all the research and development efforts made to make Blockchain work in Industry 4.0. Industrial revolutions have always been necessary for the world to shake up prejudices and occasionally embrace originality. The fourth industrial revolution is currently being sparked by Blockchain, much like earlier industrial revolutions were sparked by the steam engine or the Internet.
Blockchain is the cornerstone of the fourth industrial revolution, according to experts. It can minimize corruption by enhancing transparency in business operations, political processes, and supply chains.
To reduce extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity, global forums are also working to ensure that emerging economies can embrace blockchain technology. For instance, the World Bank introduced Bond-i, a new debt product that uses blockchain technology. It uses blockchain for its creation, distribution, and management via blockchain during its whole life cycle.
Also, Read | How Hyperledger Increases Blockchain Adoption In Various Industries
Web 3.0
We are approaching the third generation of internet services, which will be fuelled by technical advancements like IoT, Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence. The Internet is continually evolving. Blockchain is essential to the development of Web 3.0 because it places a strong emphasis on decentralization.
The way that Web 2.0 has created new opportunities for social interaction has been revolutionary. But to seize these chances, we as consumers have transferred all of our data into centralized systems, sacrificing our privacy, and opening ourselves up to all of the typical online dangers.
Web 2.0 platforms remain in control of centralized organizations that control user data and set transactional rules. The global financial crisis of 2008 made centralized control vulnerable, opening the door for decentralization. The world requires Web 3.0, a platform with user sovereignty.
Web 3.0 will need decentralized protocols to achieve its goal of building an autonomous, open, and intelligent internet; Blockchain can offer these protocols. There are already a few third-generation blockchains supporting web 3.0. But, as Blockchain 4.0 gains traction, we can anticipate the emergence of more web 3.0-based chains that will offer cohesion in interoperability, automation through smart contracts, seamless integration, and censorship-resistant storage of P2P data files.
Also, Read | The Emergence of Web3 Gaming Powered by Blockchain
Metaverse
The next big thing for us to experience in the upcoming few years are Metaverses, the pet projects of tech behemoths like Facebook, Nvidia, and many more.
Through a variety of touchpoints, including social interaction, gaming, employment, networking, and many others, we feel connected to virtual worlds. These experiences will become more real and vivid thanks to the metaverse. The virtual reality environments of Metaverse will use cutting-edge AI, IoT, AR, VR, cloud computing, and Blockchain technologies. Users will interact with other users and the computer-generated world through lifelike experiences.
The more we talk about Metaverse, the more incredible it will seem to us, especially when we think of it in terms of games, massive art shows, concerts, virtual boardrooms for businesses, and other things. Let's first examine how blockchain technology can support the growth of the Metaverse.
Increased intense user interactions, deeper use of internet services, and more exposure to user personal data are all consequences of a centralized metaverse. All of these very certainly result in greater exposure to cybercrime. Giving centralized organizations the authority to manage, disseminate, and control user data is not a long-term strategy for the Metaverse.
Develop Decentralized Metaverse Solutions
Therefore, creating decentralized Metaverse platforms that will provide users autonomy has received a lot of attention. These three decentralized metaverses—Decentraland, Axie Infinity, and Star—are all powered by blockchain.
Furthermore, Blockchain 4.0's cutting-edge technologies can assist Metaverse users in controlling their security and trust requirements. Consider the Metaverse gaming environment, where players may buy, own, and trade virtual goods with potentially huge value. To prevent the forgery of these assets, proof of ownership through something as immutable and rare as NFTs will be necessary.
Also, Read | How to use Blockchain in the Metaverse
Blockchain solutions can fulfill the following Metaverse development requirements, especially those anticipated in Blockchain 4.0:
- Decentralization
- Data management in a decentralized way
- Security
- Digital ownership evidence
- Assets with digital collectability (such as NFTs)
- Distributed Governance
- Cryptographic value transfer
- Interoperability
For more information on how to make use of the emergence of Blockchain 4.0, connect with our blockchain development experts.
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