Blockchain systems are gaining a lot of attention as a tool to increase financial transactions, trade, and traceability while streamlining supply chains. A significant portion of this interest was sparked by the speculative craze surrounding Bitcoin, which is built on outdated blockchain architecture with issues with speed and energy usage.

According to Alex-Paul Manders, a partner at the IT advice company Information Services Group, here are the top five blockchain platforms to take into account.

“#Blockchain expertise is going to become a necessary skill set within a variety of existing careers,” Alex-Paul Manders, blockchain researcher for [@ISG_News] , told Supply Chain Dive. https://t.co/sS2uje7mzb

— Alex Manders (@AP_Manders) February 26, 2018

1. Ethereum

One of the first and most well-established blockchain platforms, Ethereum, was introduced in 2013. It offers a blockchain that is as fully decentralized as the Bitcoin blockchain network. It has its own money, called ether, and serves as a blockchain platform supporting business applications. Manders cited the support for smart contracts as its primary advantage in enabling complete decentralization. Slow processing times and greater transaction processing costs in comparison to competing platforms are some of its main shortcomings.

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs), a class of digital assets that may be traded on a blockchain, have a wide range of platforms and exchanges. Although many observers anticipate this to change if Ethereum adopts a more effective security mechanism, rival blockchain networks can execute transactions faster and perhaps for less money than Ethereum. The Solidity programming environment, which the Ethereum Virtual Machine supports, includes a developed ecosystem of tools for creating smart contracts.

Additionally, it has a vibrant development community run by the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, a group of over 250 companies that includes Intel, JPMorgan, and Microsoft.

The Ethereum community is transitioning to the more energy-efficient proof of stake (PoS) consensus mechanism from the current proof of work (PoW) consensus method. For this transfer, a complex procedure was needed to create a unique, new kind of blockchain called a Beacon chain, which is being merged into the current, primary Ethereum blockchain. According to the Ethereum Foundation, this will cut energy use by 99.95%.

2. IBM Blockchain

According to Manders, commercial clients who are less risk-averse have found the best success with IBM Blockchain, a private, decentralized blockchain network. He believes that its ability to connect to enterprise cloud and legacy technologies more easily than other decentralized networks presents the greatest prospects.

The IBM Blockchain developer tool is versatile, practical, and adaptable. In order to make complex operations like setting up, testing, and swiftly deploying smart contracts simpler, IBM has also invested in developing a user-friendly interface.

$MNW is built future-proof by leveraging:

🔹All the best blockchain protocols.

🔹All of the best logistics API’s (FedEx, UPS, Microsoft Azure, DHL, SAP, IBM, Oracle, etc.)

🔹IoT triggers (QR, RFID, GPS Location, temperature sensors, etc.)

🔹New technologies & innovations. pic.twitter.com/TlktiWyUW8

— Ci🅡o (@CIRO_DI_MARZlO) April 7, 2022

3. Hyperledger Fabric

A suite of tools called Hyperledger Fabric aids in the development of blockchain applications. It was created with enterprise distributed ledger purposes in mind from the ground up and is supported by The Linux Foundation. It has a wide range of pluggable parts that can be added to a modular design. It performs well in deployments of closed blockchains, which can increase security and speed. Additionally, it enables an open smart contract paradigm compatible with several different data models, including account and unspent transaction output, or UTXO, models (see sidebar).

Important aspects to think about

According to Chris Georgen, founder and chief architect at Topl, which is creating a blockchain for sustainability, blockchain platforms come with a wide range of components, allowing businesses to choose the right ones for different sorts of capabilities.

Speed and security depend on whether a platform is open (i.e., a public blockchain) or closed (i.e., a private blockchain). Open blockchains are slower, which is a drawback. A public blockchain can be simpler to set up for small-business users, like farmers, because anyone can join. The openness or closedness of several blockchain code bases can be changed.

Byzantine fault tolerance, PoW, or another consensus mechanism. According to Georgen, the alternatives are quicker and more effective but newer and less tested. The earlier algorithm used in Bitcoin and Ethereum is called PoW.

Also, read – A list of top 5 Web 3.0 cryptocurrencies to invest in for 2022

4. Hyperledger Sawtooth

Another Hyperledger and The Linux Foundation-led open-source blockchain project. The development of a Sawtooth Library has begun, allowing creators of unique distributed ledgers to pick and choose whatever parts of Sawtooth to incorporate into their programs. Sawtooth is also integrating Splinter for networking, which will offer dynamic private circuits (groups of nodes), and Hyperledger Transact for transaction processing, which will increase the functionality of smart contracts. And Aughrim for consensus will increase the range of supported algorithms.

Hyperledger Quilt is a business blockchain tool and one of the Hyperledger projects hosted by The Linux Foundation. Learn more about how this tool offers interoperability between ledger systems and get the code here: https://t.co/RWmhJGt8Ii pic.twitter.com/mETYIuLsx3

— Hyperledger Foundation (@Hyperledger) November 21, 2018

5. R3 Corda

Technically speaking, R3 Corda may or may not be a blockchain or another kind of distributed ledger. It is described as “both a blockchain and not a blockchain” on the official Corda website. Transactions are cryptographically linked together, and a novel consensus process is used; nonetheless, there is no regular batching of several transactions into a block. One of the major advantages of this strategy is that all transactions are executed in real-time, as opposed to other kinds of blockchains.

Since Corda offers a convenient method for financial transactions and smart contracts with high security, the R3 consortium has a sizable following in the financial sector. Leading proponents include Microsoft, Intel, HSBC, and Bank of America. It provides software that enables cross-company execution of automated business logic. The group released a technical preview of Corda Payments, which makes it easier to integrate distributed payment functionality into apps.