Blockchain technology has seen massive growth in recent years, and with further adoption across industries, it will become one of the main frontiers of tomorrow. In particular, the well-known application of the technology has been cryptocurrency. There are now over 4,000 different cryptocurrencies in existence, with the biggest being Bitcoin boasting a market capitalization of over 125 billion USD.
With its rapid growth as a financial asset, cryptocurrency easily becomes the leading player on investor and industry watchlists. Consequently, this rapid growth of cryptocurrency as a financial asset has seen the well-received introduction of 5G—which experts predict will become a partner for blockchain in revolutionizing the economic system.
The Rise of 5G
First introduced publicly by Verizon, 5G networks have completely shifted the landscape of mobile connectivity. Stability and speeds have overtaken previous generations by leaps and bounds, though it is so far only available in 34 countries across the world. Different providers have various offerings and specific frequencies, dependent on their own resources and global coverage. The fastest networks now see consistent speeds of over 1 Gbps, while even the lower ranges sit comfortably at 200 Mbps (significantly higher than high-end 4G).
This level of connectivity goes beyond streaming and phone calls. As capacity increases, we’ll likely see more integration of 5G into any technology that uses wireless connections. On top of that, 5G cell sites use a series of encoded data that is sent via radio waves. The circuitry for the technology that powers these cell sites are created using re-used circuits with snippets. By utilizing the design library, 5G tech manufacturers can not only create the components faster, but also standardize quality.
All of these factors make quick adoption very feasible in the coming decade, particularly in the Internet of Things, C-band networks, and of course, blockchain technology.
The 5G-Crypto Connection
Cryptocurrency consumes a lot of power and bandwidth, particularly during the ‘mining’ process. Miners basically complete transactions and add them to the blockchain via a public ledger. Through this, new coins are released into circulation throughout the network. Because of that process, it is responsible for the current GPU and CPU supply shortage and has already started to affect the HDD and SSD market. Bill Gates has even dubbed crypto mining as one of the most problematic factors for our climate because of the massive carbon emissions produced by miners’ consumed electricity.
These major issues could largely be eradicated simply by using 5G in cryptocurrency mining and transactions as a whole. With 5G’s bigger bandwidth, improved power consumption, and better stability, transactions will be more efficient and take up less energy. Even miners can finish the job faster and lessen their footprint because 5G can take on its complex functions easily. All the while, 5G enables better connectivity between remote devices. It’s essentially able to do more for less.
In turn, experts also suspect that 5G’s impact on the economy will also largely depend on the adoption of blockchain. Blockchain will power 5G networks, and in turn, form a complete circle to support cryptocurrency in becoming a more accessible asset. Major players have already adopted this combo, and as more miners gain access to 5G, we can expect to see even more coins come into circulation at unmatched speeds.
Both blockchain and 5G are steadily permeating the mainstream, so they will be expected to be core pillars across industries shortly. Even in 2021, experts are already predicting a more considerable rise in adoption for cryptocurrency as regulations are introduced. That comes at the same time as 5G continues to roll out in more territories. So, it is no longer a question of whether these two frontier technologies will grow more together, but how quickly.
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