4.2 Identified general issues
4.2.1 Interoperability
As aforementioned, due to the fact that blockchain technology is still in its incipient form, developed by programmers according to their initial applicability needs and requirements, it does not yet have the capability to meet the needs and requirements in all concerned areas due to different protocols, coding languages, consensus mechanisms, and privacy measures. This is not a bad thing, and it doesn't mean we have to give up the benefits brought by the use of blockchain technology. It means we need to implement an optimal solution that will interconnect all existing and future blockchains. Thus, we do not need to develop a new blockchain that will perform the functions of two or more blockchains. We just need to interconnect them in order to directly and quickly benefit from the advantages of each one as needed.
The problem is that with so many different networks, the blockchain space is in a “state of disarray” due to a lack of universal standards that would allow different networks to communicate with each other.
The lack of such uniformity across blockchain protocols also takes away the consistency from basic processes like security, making mass adoption an almost impossible task.
The establishment of industry-wide standards with regard to various blockchain protocols could help enterprises collaborate on application development, validate proofs of concept, and share blockchain solutions, as well as make it easier to integrate with existing systems.
4.2.2 Update and adaptability
One of the most important identified issues is the lack of rapid adaptability of technology to meet the needs of people in carrying out specific tasks. As mentioned, the state of the art of blockchain technology is still in its infancy, and there is no perfect code to meet all needs.
The main challenge is to build a technology that combines existing blockchains with future ones. Thus, there is no need to rebuild ever-performing blockchains with ever-increasing costs of resources. The goal is to develop new features that will immediately meet the needs and can be easily integrated both with existing blockchains and with legacy systems.
For example, organizations that try to integrate blockchain in their legacy systems are required to completely restructure their previous system or design a way to successfully integrate the two technologies.
One problem is that due to the lack of skilled developers, organizations do not have access to the necessary pool of blockchain talent to engage in this process and high development costs. Reliance on an external party can soften this problem, but most solutions present on the market require the organization to invest a significant amount of time and resources in completing the transition.
4.2.3 Scalability
One major technology challenge of blockchain is related to the technical scalability of the network, which can put a strain on the adoption process, especially for public blockchains.
Once blockchain technology began to be used and integrated into various circumstances, data validation issues began to arise. Because Blockchain technology is by default characterized by decentralization, it means that validation operations must be performed by following a certain order and more validators must be added. To do this, multiple rewards and benefits must be offered to the community.
For example, the two largest blockchain networks, Bitcoin and Ethereum however, are far behind when it comes to transaction speeds. While the Bitcoin blockchain can process three to seven transactions per second, Ethereum can handle approximately 20 transactions in a second.
Analyzing the primitive validation technology based on the concept of proof of work, we found that the utilization rate of blockchain technology is higher than computational power and thus generates too much deficit between investment, administration costs, and the received rewards. As a result, the trust and sustainability power of network users declined, the network was unable to solve mathematical operations, and the cost per transaction became huge, turning a targeted network into an impossible-to-use network to improve the everyday life of the increasing number of users.
When the user number increases on the network, the transactions take longer to process. As a result, the transaction cost is higher than usual, and this also restricts more users on the network.
The purpose of the blockchain architecture is to develop a system of decentralized networks in order to ensure a balanced distribution of tasks. A solution and a big challenge are to combine the connections between blockchain networks with different applicability so that the validations can be operated in a timely, efficient, and correct manner in networks with proprietary rules.
4.2.4 Validation and security
The security of a blockchain network is given by the decentralized network of validators whether it uses POW or POS for them. In the BTC blockchain, the security and conformity of the network are maintained and ensured by the mining devices. As we presented earlier, these devices depend on the profitability and energy consumption factor, so there exists the possibility for the network to be taken over at the right time by an entity that has unknown intentions. This situation has already happened in the case of BTC. Thus, it is a problem identified in the analysis of the evolution of blockchain technology.
4.2.5 Validation speed
Due to the fact that blockchain technology is not yet mature, it could not be tested under real stress in order to extract valuable insights on limitations. Most blockchains have tried to improve the validation process only by observing the behavior of highly developed networks such as BTC or ETH.
The solution to this problem is to develop a slightly upgradable, modular blockchain that uses multiple validation architectures. Ideally, this blockchain can easily interconnect with blockchains of different architectures but can also support the development and integration of applications in as many easily accessible and usable programming languages as possible.
