In 2018, some cryptocurrencies saw major pitfalls from their peak in late 2017, but the technology underlying them is by no means out. Although still new to many people, blockchains are a decade in the making (with precursor technologies that are even older), and the crypto world has recovered from massive (in percentage terms) price declines before.

It is clear that blockchain will be a commonplace in 2019 as several big corporations plan to launch major blockchain-based projects. Here are three reasons why 2019 will be the year that blockchain will become the reality.

Major Push By Walmart and Wall Street

Walmart has been testing a private blockchain system for years as a food supply tracker. It says it will start using the system next year and has instructed its suppliers of leafy greens to join by September.

On the cryptocurrency side, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, plans to launch its own digital asset exchange in early 2019.

This follows a similar move by Fidelity Digital Assets – a division from Fidelity Investments. The main thing Fidelity brings to the table is a so-called custody service for crypto-assets. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts have argued that big investors like hedge funds, family offices, and sovereign wealth funds are itching to put billions of dollars into digital assets but can’t because there isn’t enough regulator-approved infrastructure. 

All of these moving pieces suggest that notwithstanding the current Crypto Winter, the industry is laying the foundation toward mainstream adoption.

Smart contracts: “Not-so-lofty” in the real world

Smart contracts are bits of code that execute an agreement between two parties. In principle, they would eliminate the need for all sorts of costly intermediaries. The idea has been around since the 1990s, and Ethereum was devised in 2013 specifically as a blockchain that could run smart contracts.

One practical use of smart contracts that might appear in 2019 is in legal technology. Chainlink has partnered with a project called OpenLaw, which is developing simple smart-contract-based legal agreements (for example, an agreement between a worker and a company). And OpenLaw has partnered with Rocket Lawyer, a popular online service that lets users create their own legal documents. The idea behind the collaboration is to use smart contracts to track the rights and obligations in legal agreements (like a freelance contract) on the blockchain and, once the contract’s conditions have been met, automate payments using cryptocurrency. 

A further example is the improvement in smart contract technology that will enable its use in multiple legal contexts — making the crypto adage “code is law” one step closer to becoming an accepted reality. Of recent, a startup called Monax has launched a private beta phase for a similar-sounding platform for blockchain-based legal agreements that runs on a new smart-contract platform called the Agreements Network. And a startup called Clause says it is working with LegalZoom to create smart contract-based legal services.

State-backed digital currencies

Whether it is the Venezuela’s already-launched controversial oil-backed cryptocurrency the Petro, or other states’ plans for their own state-backed coins, crypto’s roots as an anti-government movement are being upended by the advent of national cryptocurrencies.

Even if none are issued this year, expect the discussion about them to heat up in 2019 as cash use continues to decline around the world and new payment technologies, including cryptocurrencies, improve. The normalization of the technology and the sector entail a significant reshaping of the ideology that gave cryptocurrencies and blockchain their first impetus. 

The International Monetary Fund’s head, Christine Lagarde, examined the case for central-bank-backed digital currencies in a recent speech. State-backed digital money, she argued, could reach more people, and offer better security, privacy, and consumer protection, than private cryptocurrencies or commercial payment technologies.