Exchanging information and data between blockchains. Many say that it’s a necessity for the future.
But is interoperability as important as it’s made out to be?
What is blockchain interoperability?
Imagine you could convert your Bitcoin to Ether. Or your Ripple to Bitcoin. Right now, many blockchain cryptocurrencies exist independently, unexchangeable across blockchains. Blockchain interoperability would allow them to be exchange in the same way that traditional currency can be, without high fees and complicated processes.
At Blockhead, blockchain interoperability is important because it ensures that data that exists on one blockchain can be transferred to others. Say that your data is held with one company on their blockchain, and you want to move across to another. Blockchain interoperability would account for this.
Is it important?
Blockchain is becoming widely adopted – but mass adoption may never happen until all blockchains are interoperable.
Our platform, STAMP, for example, is interoperable as per RMI’s guidelines and its blockchain interoperability standards. However, many blockchain platforms are not – and this poses a problem for many companies who want to adopt blockchain, but do not want to be restricted.
Blockchain adoption is important, but independent profitability holds us back. In a world where blockchain is mass adopted and mainstream, it will be necessary for blockchain platforms and currencies to be interoperable. This is a great illustration of why blockchains need to be interoperable to succeed.
How do we do this?
Interoperability can be explored through a variety of methods, including aspects such as sidechains.
Blockchain adoption is fundamentally dependent on blockchains being able to communicate with one another. Interoperability alone will not ensure blockchain’s success, however. It will also require:
- Scalability. This means having a high rate of transactions per second (TPS) to cater to demand.
- Sustainability. This applies to environmental sustainability (given the immense amount of power that blockchain uses) as well as the sustainability of blockchain projects themselves.
Interoperability is ultimately about making blockchain accessible for everybody and ensuring it becomes mainstream and widely adopted. Blockchains need to become scalable, interoperable, and sustainable to escape the general resistance to adoption.
STAMP is interoperable, secure and easy-to-use. It traces mining supply chains beginning-to-end and prioritises data governance. To find out more, click here.