Sources report that blockchain utilization is expected to grow more than 56% yearly through 2027.

Even the growth of global mobile data traffic and consumer IP traffic is currently growing at much less than 56%.The rise of blockchain has often been compared to that of the internet, but for many years, even among its first few years, the growth rate of the internet was less than 56% annually, in the same timeframe.And now for the $69 billion question — can our current infrastructure handle it?

However, none of these issues seem to be unpreventable.For example, the real-time nature of blocks being added to blockchains may require more uninterruptible forms of power supply (UPSes).

That being said, UPSes are already commonplace in industries such as health care — and the technology for them is improving.Houston, We Have Bigger ProblemsA more discussed and significant issue concerning blockchain technology and our current infrastructure is blockchain’s relative lack of scalability compared to that of conventional databases.

That is to say, dozens and even thousands of block producers, such as EOS block producers, verify transactions in an immutable and precisely limited way.Unlike the centralized tech that makes up a database, blockchain has multiple agents validating the same transaction blocks rather than a single agent manipulating a single set of data.

Furthermore, the blocks themselves are limited in size compared to the more unlimited record sizes allowed by databases, preventing more data in the same amount of code space from being handled in fewer actions.However, even this major issue is being solved.

For all of their prominence and value, cryptocurrencies on the same blockchain are not exchangeable simply as a matter of proportionate value the way fiat currencies are.

For example, bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), the most valuable and traded cryptocurrencies, are not similarly compatible.That’s not to say that you can’t trade one cryptocurrency for another directly, such as with BTC and ETH.

With cryptocurrencies, many people use a kind of centralized intermediary, such as Coinbase or Binance, for cross-chain transactions.Of course, this is a common process that those dealing with fiat currencies are used to as well.

If you want to trade one kind of fiat currency for another, you have to use a centralized exchange of some sort — a bank, an exchange office, etc — as an intermediary.

On top of that, centralized exchanges convert your money and store it, but how it’s done is not as transparent as it could be.The drawbacks of centralized finance (CeFi) don’t stop there, either, despite the way they allow some cross-chain transactions.

CeFi is less secure, too, because assets and security keys, and the data they secure, are not under your direct control.

And it’s pioneering a new paradigm for finance itself in the process.A Tale of Two Paradigms: Centralized vs Decentralized Finance FunctionThe current paradigm that most of us are accustomed to is using a traditional bank with the currency a nation creates and manages — US dollars, euros, yen, etc.

— which is generally called fiat currency.Then there’s cryptocurrency, which is transacted and exchanged through two major new paradigms: DeFi and centralized finance (CeFi).If you keep your cryptocurrency in an account with exchange platforms such as Coinbase (not Coinbase Wallet, which is DeFi) or Binance, you are using a centralized exchange.

It’s just you and the crypto miners and stakers who validate transactions to make decentralized finance blockchain what it is, an immutable, globally crowd-verified way to keep your money secure.Technically, unlike with a CeFi provider, DeFi transactions are made through a Decentralized Application (dApp), with smart contracts executing all transactions.

Also, there is a relative lack of transparency with centralized finance.

DeFi transactions should not require it.DeFi on the RiseTo say that the use of decentralized finance on blockchain has skyrocketed in recent months is an understatement — it’s more like a whole solar system is being colonized.The chart above shows the meteoric rise of the DeFi finance token, more than tripling in just four months.

You can leverage your funds as collateral to borrow more crypto, not “take out a loan” such as you do at a bank — if the bank even lets you — because decentralized finance apps base their lending decisions solely on collateral — on dApps such as Compound or Uniswap.

The potential of the distributed ledger technology (DLT) — an umbrella term of which blockchain is the most popular kind — is enormous.

Today, this technology is already an indispensable part of many businesses.In the present article, we will go through the six most popular and successful use cases.

It is used in supply chain management, healthcare, banking, media, and other sectors.At the beginning of March 2021, biotech firm Moderna, whose mRNA-based COVID vaccine has been approved in the US, the UK, and many other countries, said that it would apply DLT and AI in the vaccine distribution.Blockchain will help the company provide vaccine traceability.

It has two main products: one for KYC (know your customer) processes and another one for digital letters of credit.ING, one of the key members of komgo SA, is also using Ethereum as part of a payment settlement consortium called Fnality.Ethereum introduced smart contracts and many other features aimed at enterprises.

The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) now has over 200 member companies, including JP Morgan, Samsung Group, Mastercard, and Microsoft.https://media.consensys.net/6-questions-to-ask-when-considering-blockchain-solutions-for-enterprise-10616a0c63c43) SIX Stock Exchange Uses DLT Solutions for Stock Trading, Settlement, and Tokenization (R3’s Corda)SIX Group, which operates the Swiss Stock Exchange, launched SIX Digital Exchange in 2019, which relies on R3’s Corda Enterprise platform.

It manages a consortium comprising over 180 companies.5) Italian Copyright Collection Agency SIAE Uses NFTs to Manage Authors’ Rights (Algorand)Some of the most interesting DLT use cases relate to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are booming right now.