Blockchain was created to allow us to transfer cryptocurrencies and data. This is one of its most important features. However, blockchain technology has much greater potential. The technology has exceeded our wildest expectations, and today it is widely used in other sectors of the economy. Have you ever wondered which industries are using blockchain technology?
Blockchain – applications
Our previous lessons have given you a thorough understanding of how the distributed ledger that powers digital assets and the flagship cryptocurrency – Bitcoin. Interestingly, blockchain technology has many more uses than just serving as an engine for digital assets. Here is a brief overview of blockchain applications in the surrounding economic sectors. Blockchain is truly spectacular!
International payments:
Blockchain has provided us with a secure, efficient and tamper-proof way to register sensitive activities. This makes it perfect for banking and ideal for international payments and money transfers. Blockchain has made it possible to automate such a process. It uses the blockchain, effectively reducing the number of intermediaries, resulting in a more efficient process for the entire network. An example of this is Banco Santander, which launched a blockchain-based money transfer in 2018. In its operation, it uses Ripple’s xCurrent service. This allows the bank’s customers to make international bank transfers, with a short and even instantaneous execution date.
Capital markets:
This is also where blockchain is doing very well. The capital market is one branch of the financial market in which we trade finances (usually securities) that have a term of no more than one year from the date of issue. By using blockchain technology in this segment, we can:
- Settle and execute our transactions more quickly.
- Streamline entire transaction operations.
- Manage equity swaps.
Trade
Especially overseas. Blockchain used in this branch provides liquidity and simplifies the whole process. As a result, it becomes easier for companies to transact with each other and transfer data, and even more so across borders.
Accounting and auditing
Blockchain is very secure and significantly reduces the possibility of so-called human error. At the same time, it ensures regulatory integrity and security. In addition, no one can change a record that has already been entered once, which contributes to enormous credibility. Companies using blockchain for their accounting, one could say, would be clean as a whistle.
Money laundering – Fraud
It is impossible not to mention protection against money laundering. The use of encryption in the blockchain makes it extremely helpful in combating this. This innovative technology enables us to keep all documentation to support the KYC process. Know Your Customer is designed to help companies identify and verify the identity of a company’s potential customers.
Insurance
This is where not only blockchain, but also smart contracts excel in their role. With them, insurers and customers manage their documents transparently and securely. All contracts entered into are recorded via the blockchain and then validated by the network. Automating insurance in this way streamlines regulatory reporting, compliance requirements and data disposition. A company in our backyard – LINK4 – has decided to use blockchain. With its help, it is making public documents available to its customers. The whole project is being carried out in cooperation with Coinfirm. Blockchain technology is truly spectacular!
Logistics:
Blockchain is ideal for supply chain management. It tracks goods in real time, allowing us to monitor the movement of products throughout the blockchain. Practically, how they are transferred from hand to hand. This technology could soon revolutionise this sector of the economy, making it more efficient, more transparent and helping the entire logistics network. In this industry, we can also boast a Polish project that has benefited from this solution. Positiverse offered its customers a solution, supporting delivery management, combining RFID, NFC and blockchain. How does it work? Blockchain contains all the information about a particular commodity and its history. A second example in this industry can be found in English fashion designer Martine Jarlgaard. Working with the Provenance platform, they want to create a fully transparent blockchain. The use of blockchain technology in this segment allows customers to understand-how their garments are made, reduce the risk of reputational damage to the fashion company and increase the efficiency of business decisions.
Health care
Blockchain would allow the creation of records containing a patient’s health data, age, gender, and basic health history. As such information would not be able to specifically identify the patient, we have no reason to fear for our privacy. The use of blockchain technology will also reduce administrative and control costs, resulting in more funding for hospitals, for example. Where might we see blockchain-based healthcare? Estonia. This is a country that has introduced an electronic prescription system and a single patient medical record, protected by blockchain. Dubai is also testing an analogous system. Turkey. It wants to use distributed ledgers to monitor the circulation of medicines. We ourselves advocate the use of this innovative technology, particularly in this sector.
Real Estate:
Blockchain would accelerate potential property sales, by quickly verifying finances and transactions. Moreover, it would reduce fraud, by encrypting the entire process. Furthermore, the entire buying or selling process would be transparent. This is not the only solution. Property tokenisation is becoming increasingly popular. Companies issue their tokens, with a predetermined value. Such assets have a particular use in fundraising. The developer issues the tokens and the investor who acquires them has a stake in the future property. The transfer is extremely fast and simple.
Media Adoption of blockchain technology
in this sector is already quite high. Using the blockchain ledger, companies want to eliminate fraud, reduce costs or even protect the intellectual property rights of content (e.g. music records).
Registers Governments
around the world are responsible for maintaining a register of people. We are talking about dates of birth and death, marital status or registered address. For the most part, such records exist in paper form. It is not difficult to guess that damaging or losing them is easy. An additional complication is that citizens in most countries have to personally go to offices to make such records or changes. Blockchain technology would simplify the whole process. The records would be completely automatic and much more secure in blockchain form. Consequently, identity management would be much simpler and more reliable. With the above information placed on the blockchain, people would only have to provide a minimum of, for example, their date of birth to prove that they are them. Stealing someone’s life and identity would no longer be so simple.
Voting
Blockchain would facilitate the voting process while improving its security. Each vote would be assigned to a single identifier. In this form, creating a fake vote and casting a double vote, for example, is impossible. Government officials would have a clear, transparent and non-tamperable vote. With blockchain technology, we also eliminate the laborious, manual and time-consuming counting of votes. Counting would be faster, more efficient and more effective. Why? Because it would be fully automatic.
Taxes
That is, what everyone loves – The use of blockchain in this sector would make this cumbersome process easier and, for some, more enjoyable. Most of the data would be stored on the blockchain, making the whole process much more efficient. In this form, we would also get rid of human error, which is inevitable throughout this process. Blockchain really has many, as yet undiscovered, possibilities. Just like bitcoin.
Regulatory updates
Blockchain could make all laws, new regulations for authorities and businesses appear in real time. As a result, we would have fewer delays and inconsistencies. It would speed up the transfer of the data chain.
NFT
From previous examples, you know that with blockchain, we can verify the original origin of a product. Such an example is NFT (non-exchangeable tokens), which without the blockchain cannot confirm the origin of a given product. NFT – digital certificate of ownership of, for example, a work of art or a piece of music.
Summary
Blockchain gives us a wide range of possibilities. It is unique in its own right. By using it in a fully informed way, we can create solutions that will realistically translate into an industry and, most simply, help to automate and develop it. Blockchain is a great example, for streamlining many laborious processes. And you – in what sector of life do you see this technology being applied?