Cryptocurrency and blockchain are primarily decentralized systems that bypass regular financial systems by allowing people to have direct access and control over their own finances. These technologies Allow anyone to fulfil a transaction without the need for a middleman such as a bank.
The problem with the current state of crypto and blockchain is that the accessibility differs widely depending on location. This is due to several reasons:
- Regulation and compliance with different regional laws.
- Lack of resources such as miners, token supply, and users, which contribute to making the blockchain unusable.
- Energy usage requirements.
For cryptocurrency and blockchain to overcome these issues and become a global tool in everyday life, accessibility to the majority of the world needs to happen.
The role of Ecosystems
What is a blockchain Ecosystem? By definition it is a “Network of participants in a blockchain network with shared business objectives, relationships, and processes.” – 101 Blockchains.
A blockchain Ecosystem allows blockchains to perform their unique functions while also sharing data, token supplies, and further advanced technical resources. This allows for stability in trading, freedom over personal information, access to desired special features, and a tremendous savings in the amount of fees.
Furthermore, Ecosystems improve transparency and flexibility, every process will be near-instant, and the ability to safely manage the selection of any information distributed across networks through smart contracts will be recognized. In other words, the full implementation of blockchain Ecosystems would lead to global accessibility.
The Current state of Ecosystems
So what’s the hold up? Why aren’t Ecosystems at the forefront of crypto at the moment? While some ecosystems have scaled to high-market caps (such as Polkadot – established in 2016 – valued around $25 billion), they have a checklist of speedbumps to get over:
- Most crypto projects are built in order to fulfil a need. However, many innovative solutions needed (for the development of Ecosystems) don’t provide an immediate benefit to users. Without users, some of these projects are unable to attract developers as they find it difficult to create incentives for the developers to get their project up and running.
- Many crypto projects fail to look ahead and prioritize building their project to fit an ecosystem. The lack of emphasis on collaboration in technological function of said projects means that you can’t just plug it into the Ecosystem and hope it works. It requires other dApps and protocols to bridge these accordingly, and some simply differentiate in development and aren’t adaptable.
- Complexity. Many of these projects built on an Ecosystem are simply too overwhelming to navigate for the average user.
- Blockchain Ecosystems are new. The earliest being Cosmos which was established in 2014, but barely made any progress until early 2021.
Lack of regulation on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is harmful to Ecosystems. To build on a global scale requires specific guidelines. Without them, an Ecosystem could land itself in irreversible hot water.
The solution
These issues are mostly linked, and with the ever growing use for crypto and blockchain, you can be sure many teams are already working on solutions. If anything, patience in the innovative process of Ecosystems will suffice.
Blockchain Ecosystems such as Harmony, Polkadot, and Cosmos have stacked their roadmaps for this year. Assuming they follow through, the next 12 months will be strong for Ecosystems.