So we're looking at trends in Blockchain in 2023 and beyond and what skills will likely be needed to deal with this. In general, I think it's safe to say that a basic understanding of blockchain and the data structures to take advantage of it is needed, e.g., to correct data you need to do a corrective transaction; you can't simply edit the past data (at least in most current blockchains, there are some that allow this but once you lose the property of permanency a lot of other problems pop up).
On the corporate side, I think we'll see a slow burn, blockchain adoption likely won't happen in many industries until somebody else in that space does it and gains an advantage that becomes clear. Blockchain suffers in the sense it is a large project, not just technologically, but you need to potentially rethink data structures, data processes, workflows, and so on to take advantage of Blockchain truly.
Skills needed: awareness of how blockchain and, more importantly, how to architect the data and processes (e.g., transactions) to work in blockchain (e.g., fixing transactions) or privacy issues, e.g., name changes.
Finance side, as many people suspected, it turned out to be a LOT of scams. It's starting to settle out, with Bitcoin and Ethereum clearly here to stay, but it's likely that the on/off ramps will be regulated, and companies will have to abide by this. I also suspect, as do many others, that we will end up with 2-3 large legitimate exchanges and some smaller ones in other jurisdictions with varying degrees of legitimacy.
Skills needed: Basic smell test for scams, awareness of current trends in scams, awareness of social engineering and what it feels like
CBDC - we're not going to see a lot of CBDC action again until some countries do it, and then we'll have the rush to implement it. The schism between retail and institutional will continue, and smaller countries (especially with lower trust systems) will likely be the first ones to do retail CBDCs (because of the lack of credit cards and similar payment structures). This might end up looking a bit like modern cell phone data plan markets (e.g., richer nations pay more for less, and developing nations have unlimited pay-as-you-go for $5-$10 a month). On the institutional side blockchains also have the potential to prevent a lot of corruption due to the potential transparency and tracking; as I keep saying, "governments love collecting taxes."
Skills needed: basic understanding of how the financial systems work, e.g., retail vs. institutional banking, and basic understanding of blockchain
Identity - this is still a problematic space; witness requirements for REAL ID in the US are being pushed back. Smaller countries, especially developing nations, are more likely to look at these systems, especially where they interface with existing blockchain ID systems used for e.g., refugees.
Skills needed: recovery and correction of data, e.g., what if someone is accidentally declared dead when they are not, how do you confirm and fix this? Also, understanding biometrics and identity vs. authentication and authorization.
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Kurt Seifried
Chief Blockchain Officer and Director of Special Projects
Cloud Security Alliance
[email protected]------------------------------