Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2024.  Read them in this 16th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

4 Blockchain Technology Trends to Watch for in 2024

By Mrinal Manohar, CEO and Co-Founder, Casper Labs

Amid all the hype of AI this year, blockchain has been steadily climbing the slope of enlightenment-a critical period of adoption in which early users are gaining a competitive edge, and awareness of the technology's benefits are starting to accelerate. Leaders are now recognizing the transformative potential that blockchain holds for use cases, the majority of which go well beyond cryptocurrency.

From IT access controls to more transparent record-keeping to process automation, successes across a diverse range of applications are clearly demonstrating the value blockchain brings to businesses. In healthcare, medical facilities are tapping blockchain to protect patient health records and streamline adherence to rules like HIPAA. Even the public sector-notorious for being slow to evolve-is investing in blockchain to mitigate identity fraud risk (a prevalent issue that impacted over 1 million Americans in 2022).

As digitization takes hold of the finance industry, businesses are also looking for ways to better monetize and manage their intellectual property (IP). Through our partnership with IP analytics company IPwe, Casper Labs recently created a custom blockchain solution to mint millions of patents as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), helping companies make the most of their intangible assets and explore new revenue streams.

Even among these innovative industry applications, working effectively with AI is emerging as the single-most popular blockchain use case for businesses. As generative AI tools and platforms become more common, concerns around opaque algorithms and lack of decision-making transparency are magnified. In surveying over 600 IT leaders, we found that nearly half believe bringing transparency and efficiency to AI-driven processes would be the best way to utilize blockchain technology.

Could blockchain be what breaks through AI's "black box" problem?

Let's take a look at the key industry-specific enterprise trends coming up in 2024-and the role that blockchain technology will play in protecting, streamlining, and applying data.

Data is the lifeblood of organizations. Maintaining data integrity ensures that the information used for decision-making, operations, and transactions is trustworthy.

With a tamper-proof ledger, businesses are not only able to eliminate inconsistencies, they can also integrate with existing infrastructures to seamlessly unify disparate data sources. This equips leaders with a holistic view of what kind of data is being used to facilitate workflows, serving as an accountability mechanism to keep everyone on the same page. Better visibility also means better insights. Consolidating databases can help leaders efficiently produce actionable information at the right time, when the need arises.

With hybrid blockchains, businesses can even tailor their infrastructure to maintain privacy over certain data while also leveraging the transparency and decentralization advantages that come with public blockchains. In 2024, we will likely see the rise of custom solutions that offer a multi-layer approach to establishing trust among stakeholders.

On Oct. 30, President Biden passed an Executive Order outlining the need for federal oversight around the use and development of AI tools. As we emerge out of AI's brute force era, companies are now demanding systemic guardrails to help ensure their models are using the right data for the right purposes at the right time.

Unsurprisingly, a recent McKinsey report found that organizations capturing the largest ROI from AI tools are more likely to "follow best practices that enable explainability." The bottom line: Businesses won't be able to make the most of their AI until they figure out a way to reliably audit and modify their systems.

With blockchain's version control, businesses have the ability to record the origin, history, and transformations of datasets used in their AI training. This is crucial for maintaining data integrity and addressing concerns related to biased or manipulated datasets. AI models also undergo continuous improvement-and by creating a shared, decentralized ledger of model versions, businesses can enable multiple teams to work on the same project with a clear history of changes, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

To solve the black box problem, industry leaders need to embrace ethical AI standards and bring clarity to their internal processes. Looking ahead, businesses will leverage blockchain to radically increase visibility into their AI. Major technology companies, such as IBM, have already launched open-source AI platforms that use blockchain to bridge gaps in data transparency. By creating a visible, tamper-resistant trail of workflows, leaders can retain the ability to identify, audit, and rein in rogue AI operations.

"Greenwashing" has become a real problem, as some companies continue to make misleading claims about the environmental benefits of their products, or the progress that they are making toward specific sustainability goals. Organizations need to be held accountable-not only for the sake of consumer transparency, but also to keep their own leaders informed on how they are improving their decarbonization efforts.

Instead of relying on a single authority for verification, a decentralized blockchain network reduces the risk of collusion and ensures a more trustworthy assessment of environmental claims. Workflows can be automated with smart contracts to enforce compliance with decarbonization standards. Not to mention, a digital ledger gives businesses enhanced, real-time access to their own performance metrics-like waste generation, total emissions output, and energy consumption-allowing them to easily hone in on areas of improvement and identify ways to uplevel their practices.

Tokenization will play a prominent role in energy transformation as organizations begin relying on carbon credits to track and trade their carbon offsets. Using a transparent record-keeping system can prevent the misuse or double-counting of carbon credits, which is a common issue in greenwashing. With more organizations using blockchain technology to hold themselves accountable, 2024 will likely see greater enterprise confidence in decarbonization goals and carbon trading systems. 

The web development landscape is becoming more open and accessible with the emergence of WebAssembly (WASM). By giving developers the freedom to create software applications using the programming languages they prefer, WASM has made it easier to run applications on a diverse range of platforms and blockchain networks. As a universal language, WASM even eliminates the need for developers to rewrite or translate code for each browser, helping save valuable time and resources.

The ability to securely execute code in different web browsers, process data locally, and create decentralized applications also makes WASM a valuable tool for companies to safely monetize their intangible assets. WASM provides a secure runtime environment, often referred to as a "sandbox." The code and data affiliated with the proprietary IP are isolated from the system, reducing the risk of data breaches. Secure execution assures businesses and their customers that their IP is handled with the utmost integrity.

Moving forward, more organizations will be able to customize and safely integrate blockchain solutions into their data infrastructure using WASM. Creating next-gen applications that are more portable, flexible, and interoperable, WASM is opening up exciting possibilities in blockchain and web development.

Building a better world with blockchain technology

Blockchain is no longer solely defined by cryptocurrency. The technology is poised to help businesses meet critical needs in terms of security, accountability, and sustainability across a diverse set of use cases.

In 2024, watch how it will empower enterprise organizations by facilitating secure, real-time processes, driving efficiency, and enabling environmentally-conscious practices in a digital business landscape.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mrinal Manohar is the Co-Founder and CEO of Casper Labs, a leading enterprise blockchain software company. Prior to launching Casper Labs, Mrinal led the multi-billion dollar technology, media, and telecommunications sector at Sagard Holdings. He also has experience managing North American Private Equity for the TMT sector at Bain Capital.