Top mobile app development companies report: Blockchain
Everyone is talking about Blockchain development these days. But is it more than a trend? Is there actual future for blockchain developers? And how can it possibly be applied to mobile apps?
We’ve asked some of our top mobile app development companies to contribute with Blockchain info, sharing their thoughts on this technology, its uses and advantages, and the future we can expect from it.
Keep on reading to discover what the Blockchain revolution will bring to the mobile world, way beyond what we know about digital cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Is Blockchain a reality? Is there demand? Has it grown so much that it's comparable to mobile and web development?
Do developers think blockchain can be compared to mobile and web development? Some seem to believe blockchain is already a powerful technology ready to revolutionize the world, while some are still reluctant and believe there’s a long way to go.
Blockchain is a reality and not just a hype in the market. The distributed ledger technology is redefining almost every second business and industry and is predicted to have a market of USD 683.7 million by 2022, with a CAGR of 79.6%. Not only this, the technology has scored a spot in the top 20 fastest-growing skills in Q1, 2018 proving the growing demand for Blockchain in the present market. Regarding the comparison to mobile and web app development, we feel that Blockchain technology is still in its nascent stage of adoption where its massive potential is often associated with hype and scepticism. But, the way its popularity is growing, that day is not far when it will surpass the web and mobile app development technology.
Blockchain has become a reality with a handsome demand from various different sectors. With the growth in Blockchain, it is well poised to supercede the demand for mobile app and web development within a couple of years itself.
With the growth of Bitcoin wallets, Blockchain has certainly become a reality. With the advanced security and anonymity, it is growing in technologies like Internet of Things, and it is rapidly challenging mobile and web development.
High demand for experts and rapid investment growth in projects has proved Blockchain to be very promising. The technology is easy to be applied to any field of business and it continues to gain momentum.
Blockchain is a reality and it provides the basis for developing decentralised apps. These apps are now being developed for marketing, big data and tracking, financial and many other business sectors. We’ve seen a rise in demand from startups that can now fund themselves via ICOs, and are using them as crowdfunding campaigns. ICOs are helping a lot of startups from emerging markets (like Eastern Europe, Africa and others) where investments from Venture Funds are more difficult to obtain. To compare the growth of Blockchain to mobile and web development, I would say that it’s still small (maybe around 10%), but rising.
Yes and no. There are some really cool projects in Blockchain, but a lot is driven by hype just to include Blockchain strictly for PR and marketing purposes. The industry is still in its early stages - there is a demand for projects in this tech, but compared to mobile and web development there is a lot of room to grow.
Definitely. However, it is also probably not fully understood. Most people think of data but this is about business processes. The key point is understanding how to combine application logic with smart contracts. Blockchain professionals are currently some of the most wanted professionals in the market. At the Synergo Group we think that Blockchain is currently growing in baby steps on the market, far away from mobile or software development, but its technology could change entire industries, so it is a very promising domain.
Blockchain has been there for nearly a decade however only recently it got all the attention primarily due to the astronomical increase in cryptocurrency prices. Blockchain has seen considerable interest from prospects in the past 12 months. Some say its true power is yet to be unleashed. For me it seems like people are still trying to figure out what and how it can be applied to real world problems. We have seen a flurry of ICOs hit the market however beyond that no one has really exploited it to address a pain point. Eventually it will be absorbed in different fields and will be the core technology addressing many system.
Blockchain is gaining unstoppable limelight like no other back-end technology received yet. It is touted to change the way the world works, and remove all the problems we have modern-day. It is envisioned as a fair technology that comes as a grace for one and all.
There is a big demand in cryptocurrency in the online trading. Beside that, cryptocurrency is an easy way to make payments all over the world. We think that Blockchain can be comparable to mobile and web development because a lot of people nowadays try to earn money from air by building special computer farms.
One could never think that all the hype revolving around Blockchain could eventually become a reality. It has now become the single most transformative technology concept that could change everything we know about risk and internal controls.
After the introduction of relational databases, the world got flocked by its assorted cousins like in-memory databases, distributed databases, graph databases, centralized databases and parallel databases. But what is relevant to this discussion is that Blockchain has been considered as a distributed ledger system and everyone holds an opinion about it. This is a major cause of worry. Private Blockchains are more than a chunk of shared databases, a set of hash functions and digital signatures.
They can essentially help in minimizing fraud, maximize security, transparency, and efficiency in global money systems, supply chains, healthcare, democratic elections, financial technologies, electronic record authentication, energy trading, IoT, delivery of Government Services and many more domains.
The year 2018 predicts that Blockchain is soon going to become a new Internet in itself. Amongst the various flurry news of Blockchain being hacked in 2010 with value overflow incident - someone was able to create 160 billion dollar bitcoins out of thin air, the system soon reorients the transactions that created Bitcoins and thus averted the crisis.
Blockchain forms the basis of the Concept of Cryptocurrency. Blockchain technology is going to fuel Web 3.0, which is the new Internet. It can further be defined as connective intelligence where the next generation of data, apps, concepts, and people associated with it won't need any bank or trust broker in between to make transactions. They will be connected by an unmediated fabric that will ensure privacy and security. And with the onset of 2018, the market will soon shift its focus to other sections like:
- Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple)
- Platform (Ethereum, NEO, IOTA)
- Utility Token (TRON, EOS, Status)
What are the main uses for Blockchain? What are its advantages?
We might think we know it all about cryptocurrencies, but does Blockchain have more uses? And what exactly are the pros of using Blockchain, besides decentralization?
Blockchain technology is touted to set the foundation of the fourth Industrial revolution with its key features:
- Digital: All the information will be digitized, eliminating the manual documentation. This will enhance the information accessibility rate.
- Distributed Ledger: Different copies of information will be shared on the Blockchain system. Every individual will be able to validate information without any central authority. This will eliminate the need for middlemen and accelerate the processes.
- Chronological and Time-stamped: Each repository will store information in blocks linking with the previous and next connected block, rendering a trail of the underlying transaction.
- Consensus-based: Any transaction is possible only when all the associated parties approve it. This implies transparency along with security.
- Cryptographically-sealed: All the blocks are sealed using the cryptocurrency technology, which means you can not edit, delete or update any record. This is again improving the security aspect of the applications.
The technology is adding a higher level of transparency, accessibility and security to different business verticals, like Retail, Healthcare, Education, Finance, and Enterprise to name a few.
We’ve had a lot of Blockchain requests for marketing and payment apps. The most important reason to opt for a Blockchain system was the need for transparency between all parties in the business. Also, a large number of requests came for smart contracts. Of course, many of the companies funded themselves or new projects via ICOs. The advantages of Blockchain-based technology is quite a vast subject. It helps regulate access to sensitive information like patient data through digital signatures, helps companies regulate their collaborations through smart contracts, eases inter-country payments, etc.
Blockchain is mainly used in all the places where transaction and data have to be very secured. The major advantage is that it is extremely difficult to hack Blockchain-based applications and it provides seamless transactions in a trustless environment. Therefore, Blockchain becomes very effective for banking, finance, insurance, travel, healthcare and the logistics sector. The tokens that are launching recently are by and large trying to solve the problems in one of the above sectors. With digital exchanges becoming easier with these cryptocurrencies, some of the coins will become very successful indeed.
The main use of Blockchain is the transaction of cryptocurrency without any requirement of a centralized financial institution. The major advantages include:
1. Transparency which it brings, makes it impossible for any alteration of the digital transaction.
2. It allows peer-to- peer transactions without any involvement of the third party. As there is no middleman involved, it reduces the cost to the users over the time.
3. Another major advantage of Blockchain technology is that it works 24/7, which essentially means that the Blockchain-based transaction processes are quite quick.
4. Decentralization is the major advantage of Blockchain. It allows individual transactions to have own proof of validity as well as authorization to enforce any constraints.
The classical approach to solve lack of trust in a business transaction is to introduce a mutually trusted intermediary, Blockchain technology can make this intermediary redundant. By design, Blockchain is the state of the art when we think about adding security, scalability and trust in any market.
Blockchain is based on values and has a number of pros: it is decentralized and data integrity recorded in cryptographically protected blocks is almost impossible to be violated. Blockchain app development combines the best properties of Blockchain with the best features of mobile and web development.
Blockchain can be used to solve problems that require benefits of decentralization and persistency of data. The main advantages of Blockchain are the properties of trustless behavior (not dependent on company’s attitude or intentions), transparency of actions (everyone can see the current state of accounts and transactions) and immutability of data (everyone is an owner of his portion of data).
Its main usage can be in digital currencies, identity, maintaining digital assets and records, financial transactions,etc.
Blockchain facilitates digital information to be shared among network participants while assuring integrity. Diving deeper into it we understand that Blockchain is not just one singular technology, it is an architectural principle with characteristics like it can only be written once and appended later, it is not fully encrypted but is cryptographically secured and decentralized in its pure form. Other incredible benefits make Blockchain a reliable technology to be used in various tech processes. Being traceable makes it ideal for tracking movement of goods, the quantity and their origin bringing transparency to B2B Ecosystems. Ownership transfer, production process assurance, and payments.
Each of its nodes is unique in identity. This ability allows users to create a unique digital identity on the Blockchain network, privately or publicly. Blockchain can effectively be used for personal identification in banks, educational institutions, and government organizations. Data manipulation on such network is not possible due to its peer-to-peer architecture thus its ability to record ownership, values, and timestamp and makes it ideal for the smart contract system. Any irregularities in a supply chain can easily be pointed out right to its origin by helping to carry out an investigation easily. Although it enhances security, efficiency, and transparency, it is still a fairly complex technology for every mobile or web developer to integrate it into custom systems.
Blockchain technology can bring in traceability and cost-effectiveness into the supply chain management industry. Blockchain technology can easily lead to the point of origin in supply chain thus reducing the necessity of error. Recording transactions through Blockchain technology eliminates human errors. Therefore, in simple words, Blockchain technology can bring greater transparency, enhanced security, improved traceability, increased efficiency and speed, and reduced cost.
The main use of Blockchain is trading, beside that, it is possible to keep your capital not in the ordinary financial institutes. The biggest benefit of Blockchain is that information about transactions is not stored in one place, it is in open use.
Sectors influenced by Blockchain:
- Banking Industry: Know your customers (KYC), Registering assets and keeping a track of them, Asset hypothecation, Smart wallets, Payments –b2b, b2c, p2p, Trade finance and Syndicated loans etc.
- Insurance Industry: Fraud Repository, Agent Details Registry, Insurance Ledger, National Policy & Claims Records, Verified KYC Data, Unclaimed Life, Verified Health & Policy Records.
- Other financial use-cases: Corporate finance book-running, Asset-backed virtual currencies, Clearing & settlement, Fund portfolio management, Depository receipts, Escrow, Payment gateway, Regulatory reporting, Securities servicing, Securities settlement, Securities trading, Peer-to-peer trading.
- Government: Blockchain can be used in government to record authentications and verification of academic records, accounting records, business ownership records, birth certificates, copyrights, identity documents, health records, police & court records, national ID, regulatory records, vehicle records, property records.
- Others important use cases of Blockchain: Contract management, Auctions, Secure documents, Identity management, Supply Chain Management and, in Voting.
What are the main apps/specs/features of Blockchain in the mobility world?
We want to know if Blockchain is useful for mobile app developers. These mobile app development companies share their ideas about Blockchain mobility and the type of apps that can be developed through this technology.
Regarding Blockchain apps, we think the following three apps are apt to describe features of this technology:
- Blockchain Merchant: Powered by Blockchain technology, it is a free point-of-sale mobile app that can be considered for the business growth purpose. It empowers users to instantly accept and send bitcoin payments at any retail location. This app describes how businesses can use the Blockchain technology to streamline the payment process.
- Walimai: Walimai mobile application uses the Blockchain technology to deal with counterfeit milk products. This not only upgrades the customer experience but also bring higher ROI to brand. This mobile app shows how technology can prevent frauds and add value to both business and customer experience.
- Steemit: It’s a social media platform that offers the service of creating and curating content using a Blockchain-based digital point system (steem).
Besides, we are also currently working on a Social media app based on Blockchain technology. The app, in addition to the social networking app features, will serve the user with facilities like content creation and curation and act like a marketplace to buy/sell digital assets.
In my experience with Blockchain and mobile apps, so far, I’ve seen mainly payment and monitoring/tracking apps being developed.
There are a lot of apps, especially wallets, to manage cryptocurrencies. Besides that, it is pretty hard to see any app that truly accesses the Blockchain, because it is pretty expensive for an app to keep a record of the data in the Blockchain inside it. We don't usually see any relevant app for Blockchain directly inside a mobile app.
Blockchain-based financial, healthcare, automotive IT apps, enterprise mobility issues such as security, management, hardware and apps, car-wallet and payments, smart insurance, keyless authentication, are the main features of Blockchain in the mobility world.
The main specs or features of Blockchain for mobile apps would be the use of transactions for in-app purchases, use of collectibles for owning and trading unique assets, use of escrow concept for gathering funds or crowdsales and usage for games that are engaging multiple players. The main feature of Blockchain in the mobility world is that cryptocurrency doesn’t need any credit cards or wallets, you may hold it on your personal account. Cryptocurrency allows anybody to stay anonymous while doing internet trading because of the encoding: both buyer and seller use cryptocurrency, but the coins have different code.
When it comes to the mobility world, the decentralized applications built on Blockchain have the potential to disrupt industry. Companies - big and medium- sized are working hard and developing proof of concepts applications investing the scope and potential of Blockchain technology to fix existing and futuristic mobility challenges. From usage-based activities, peer to peer transactions and channelizing better productivity across industries and process for example using Blockchain to improve ride sharing data through mobile devices etc, are gaining attention.
The main feature of Blockchain in mobility world is that cryptocurrency doesn’t need any credit cards or wallets to keep it, and you may hold it on your personal account in the internet. Cryptocurrency allows anybody to stay anonymous while doing internet trading because of the encoding its original code (both buyer and seller use cryptocurrency, but the coin sold by a buyer and the coin which a seller gets has different code).
Many companies are planning to make Blockchain the standard mode of exchange and payment. This is going to replace the currency and any form of barter. Time is going to tell the future of Blockchain, as soon as it becomes the next pivotal technology and changes the way lot many things are done. Sooner that it happens, it will ensure openness and dependability by people who will then embrace it.
Main Apps for Blockchain
- Payments and money transfers
- Smart contracts
- Notary
- Distributed cloud storage
- Digital identity
- Supply-chain communications & proof-of-provenance
- Gift cards and loyalty programs
- Networking and IoT
Key Features of Blockchain
Blockchain allows flawless transactions that are highly automated without involving any third-party institutions like banks, legal or notary agencies. Some of the big market leaders are making IoT devices and big peripherals interact with each other and take self-directed decisions without any human interference.
Four major features of Blockchain
- Minting
- Decentralized Systems
- Safer and Secure Ecosystems
- Distributed Ledger
Do you think that Blockchain cryptocurrencies have a great future when it comes to in-app purchases and digital good exchanges?
Everyone seems to think that Blockchain has a great future in the world of in-app purchases, mainly because of the App Stores’ significant commission. However, things will undoubtedly change and there is still no word from Google or Apple.
Yes, Blockchain cryptocurrencies have a great future when it comes to in-app purchases and digital good exchanges. As we covered in one of our blogs, the technology will let app users use and spend their CPA reward when they do not have a credit card or any other payment mode available. Also, it will let mobile app developers get 85% instead of 70% of transaction value by removing the middlemen. However, this will be quite difficult to achieve right now, especially in the case of the Apple App Store due to its strict regulations related to digital exchange.
I think Blockchain technologies will evolve much more in solving business problems and streamlining business processes. Some Blockchain companies will surely focus on the financial side of the field, but I’m seeing a lot of interest in the technology itself. Maybe in 10 years, we will see an increase in the use of cryptocurrencies in the virtual environment, but I don’t expect it sooner.
The future of in-app purchases and digital good exchanges seems to be in cryptocurrencies which will enable secure and anonymous unrestricted transactions with a fee as low as possible.
For people who make in-app purchases, it is frustrating for developers as the app stores take a significant cut. With Blockchain, it will be possible to introduce a frictionless way to pay for in-app purchases and pass the value to developers.
Yes, but not in the current way that we are dealing with transactions. We think that cryptocurrencies are designed to act as a background procedure instead of a transaction as it is said. For example, it is way more useful if one registers their cryptocurrency wallet and authorizes it with a specific app and then one can be billed (micro transactions) with every action. Instead of buying the video, for example, one can pay for the amount of seconds that has watched.
There are already a lot of ready-to-use currencies for in-app purchases, which suggest that many people are counting towards it, and even selling their own solutions.
It is still to be seen whether Apple and Google will allow cryptocurrencies for in-app purchases. In case they do, they will probably launch their own currency. We have not heard anything on this front from both giants as of now, however, things change rapidly these days.
Of course, cryptocurrency has a future in in-app purchases. It’s easy to use because you have your money online, so it is easier just to use your smartphone to buy the things that are needed.
For a majority of bankers and financial institutions, Bitcoin is showing them dreams of becoming rich by banking on their investments. It is the first and most rewarding cryptocurrenciy these days. It might be volatile, but Bitcoin is paying handsome returns. It is even good for investing in long-term. Bitcoins can be bought 24*7 now. Unocoin, Zebpay, Coinsecure, Koinex.in are some of the best Bitcoin exchange apps in India. You get the privilege to buy bitcoins from these applications and then exchange these bitcoins for anything you want. After deciding the type of cryptocurrency to use, you need to figure out the best method to exchange and convert it into a different asset. Bitcoin exchanges are useful for people who want to trade and invest in long-term and even those who are making use of cryptocurrency the very first time. Pocketbits, Bitxoxo and ThroughBits are some very popular exchanges in India.
The trading platform is the site that allows buying and selling of the order. You have a choice of buying and selling on the price given over the website or to suggest your own price. The order will have a pending status until any other person is ready to buy or sell at your price. Having a prior knowledge of buying and selling is not really important. But this process will give you a transparency on the price on which you are buying or selling the Bitcoin. Coinsecure, Koinex, and CoinDelta are popular trading platforms in India.
What is the future of Blockchain?
The future is bright, but when will it happen? Will big tech companies adopt Blockchain? Everyone agrees that there are thousands of possibilities, but are they happening soon?
With the pace it is becoming popular, there’s no exaggeration in saying that the Blockchain technology will have even a brighter future. It will sooner become the cornerstone of each business vertical and eliminate the need for middlemen completely. The technology, with a predicted market of USD 683.7 million by 2022 will sooner be integrated with various other technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things to provide superior services.
I would expect the Blockchain technology to be adopted as a tool for transparency, streamlining business processes, contractual relations (smart contracts), online security, etc. I also think grid computing will benefit from Blockchain technology as it can help it become more efficient and accessible.
With social media companies like Facebook already planning to launch their Blockchain and finance, banking, healthcare and insurance investing a lot of amount in Blockchain development, we can safely assume that Blockchain is here to stay and indeed a technology to invest into.
The future of Blockchain is quite bright. It has massive application in a plethora of industries. It will assist in addressing various security concerns which include issues with contracts, identity as well as fraud management. It will allow online retailers as well as financial organisations to conveniently check their customers and reduce fraudulent activities. Another path-breaking application is it that it will secure self-driving cars. It will allow these cars to be immune to cyber-attacks. These are some of the apps which suggest that Blockchain is going to be the leading trend in the future.
Blockchain technology is here to stay. It will be definitely used to improve inefficient processes currently used to buy and sell things, identify ownership, etc. We think we are at a turning point for Blockchain, as a data storage architecture we think that we are going to see a lot of improvements and new implementations of the Blockchain technology in the next few years. Blockchain will introduce major changes to our economic and social ecosystems and revolutionize industries such as Insurance, Health Care, Financial Services, Music, Government, Manufacturing, etc.
The future is bright, because the interest in this tech is raising. It will definitely expand to more and more fields and areas. The real question is not how many of them, but how fast it will grow.
Blockchain definitely has a good future if we can explore and find out how it can be used to improve current systems, addressing some pain points and can apply it to solve real world problems apart from simply using it in cryptocurrencies.
The future of Blockchain as it seems now is great. When the traceable global currency will compete with mainstream processes and infrastructure to bring stability and transparency, it will reduce cost for market participants, but change global banking and subsequently could change the governments, markets and way of living. But to expect that now is an assumption made too early. We need to wait and watch cautiously and make sure the true essence of the technology remains rooted to goodness. Only then it can succeed!
We think that in the near future Blockchain will kill the ordinary money system, and nobody will use paper or metal moneys, or even ordinary currency as we used to.
Microsoft has launched BaaS and IBM has launched Bluemix that will help in making Blockchain a mainstream technology. Amazon is also providing Blockchain experimentation environment for enterprises along with an investment firm called Digital Currency Group. Amazon web services will provide dedicated cloud infrastructure and technical support for those projects. Small companies, especially startups can collaborate with enterprise businesses and explore different Blockchain applications. AWS is already a very popular cloud platform within the b2B circle and this will help it to achieve heights if it sees large-scale adoption in coming times. Thus Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon are inviting thousands of companies to test Blockchain apps on their platform. Blockchain carries the potential to suggest us different ways we transact with each other. This will also help in eliminating bureaucracy at every level. We might want to replace all our basic transactions by Blockchain in near future.
After analyzing the developer's thoughts and concerns about the Blockchain technology, we have comfirmed that opinions are varied and strong. There are those who think that Blockchain development is going to change everything in a matter of a year or two, while others are still debating on its different applications and believe that it's a complex technology that it's not so simple to implement. However, there's no doubt that Blockchain is here to stay, and it will revolutionize the digital world. Whether this happens soon or not, it's another matter.
If you want to share your opinion about the future of Blockhain development in the mobility world, join our discussion on the blockchain development forum.
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Bernat GuitartCEO at AppFuturaBernat is the CEO at AppFutura and he has been a Marketing manager in different companies over the years. Besides being the main person in charge of our company and its strategy, he takes care of our SEO and curates our SEO Companies and Digital Mark...
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