As we’ve mentioned repeatedly, today’s blockchain implementations aren’t at immediate risk from quantum computing. But looking further into the future shouldn’t just involve cryptocurrencies and other digital assets: What about long-lived data anchored to a blockchain?

The 11 myths are: ‘the’ blockchain exists; blockchains disintermediate, trusted third parties are no longer needed; blockchains are decentralized; blockchains are trustless; blockchains are immutable; blockchains are inherently more secure; blockchains are ‘truth machines’; blockchains automatically improve data quality; transparency can only be good; smart contracts will make lawyers redundant; build it and they will come.

While a blockchain is a distributed ledger, a distributed ledger doesn’t have to be a blockchain. There’s no agreement, however, on what constitutes a pure blockchain architecture and at which point it becomes “blockchain-like” or “blockchain-inspired.” Now, Pragmatism Is The Order Of The Day Fast-forward to today: A number of those early projects survived and have gone into day-to-day operation, and they have been joined by a raft of new initiatives.

NFTs are essentially blockchain-based smart contracts, and the rules pertaining to the asset or entitlement are programmed into the token. Many, but not all, are tradeable. NFTs are also widely misunderstood: While they’re a useful technical construct, they don’t “transform ownership,” as many claim. All the buyer “owns” is a string of numbers on a blockchain; the asset itself resides elsewhere (e.g., online on IPFS or offline in any location).

Blockchain is increasingly used in trading and compliance in APAC, with decentralized AI (DeAI) powering AI agents to operate on decentralized protocols. Leading banks in APAC are also researching DeAI to foster federated learning among capital markets players. Blockchain Will Be Used To Enable Stablecoins And A Widening Range Of Use Cases Maturity trends: As a concept, blockchain (aka distributed ledger technology) isn’t new.

After several years of experimentation and the experience gained in a few pilot projects and rollouts, there’s much greater confidence in the technology aspect, whether or not blockchain/DLT is involved. We certainly shouldn’t see another digital currency system just stop, as happened in January 2022 with DCash, the Eastern Caribbean CBDC pilot.

Technologies like generative AI (genAI), blockchain, and digital twins are enabling companies to launch products and services that were previously inconceivable.

The center of gravity for blockchain remains financial services; payments and asset tokenization are the predominant areas of activity. While permissioned blockchains remain predominant for enterprise use cases, there’s increasing interest in the use of public blockchains (aka Web3). Blockchain is more deeply integrated in China, other countries in Asia Pacific, and South America, supported by government initiatives and widespread applications across industries.

Blockchains and distributed ledger technology. Permissioned blockchain technology like Hyperledger Fabric, Quorum, and R3 Corda can automate processes across corporate boundaries, enabling data sharing, proof of provenance, and adherence to agreed-upon processes. The integrity of blockchains and systems based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) is at risk primarily due to their reliance on digital signatures that are not quantum resistant.

Keep away from security solutions dependent on blockchains. Today’s major blockchain implementations are vulnerable to quantum computers, as they rely on ECC for signatures. Upgrading to quantum-resistant signatures is no small task, and upgrading a blockchain will take longer due to different governance models and varying degrees of decentralization.