Apart from security and privacy, discussed in the previous chapter, there are several other hurdles that should be addressed before mainstream adoption of blockchains can be realized. These include regulation, government control, immature technology, integration with existing systems, and implementation costs.
Regulation is considered one of the biggest challenges that need to be addressed. The core issue is that blockchains and especially cryptocurrencies are not recognized as a legal currency by any government. Even though, in some cases, it has been classified as money in the US and Germany, it is still far from being accepted as a normal currency. Moreover, blockchains in their current state are not recognized as a platform that can be used by financial institutions. No financial regulatory body has yet accepted it as a platform that can be authorized to be used. There are, however, various initiatives taken by regulatory authorities around the world to research and propose...