Tag: benefits of blockchain

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Crypto Guides

Applications of Blockchain In The Publication industry

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

The publication industry is again an age-old industry that is struggling to find its place in the digital world. Like many industries, the industry has turned towards blockchain to figure out a solution for their woes. Many people are switching to digital for their reading purposes, say it books, newspapers, journals, or anything of that kind.

Hence the publishing industry’s revenue model, traditional distribution, is just not working anymore. Thus, many content creators are turning to digital, but with a lot of piracy and free content available digitally, it has proved robust to generate money. Using smart contracts to publish and make money using blockchain is one viable option.

Problems grappling the publication industry

When we say publishing, for a lot of people, only newspapers and books may come into mind. But publishing is not just tagged to these two, any content like software, videogames, apps, songs that can be created and shared for consumption can be said as publishing.

⚫ Intellectual Property & Copyright Management

This is the first and foremost problem the publication industry is currently facing. No one wants to publish anything without involving money. Once the content is out, anyone can make copies of it and distribute stuff for a lesser price than the original content. Blockchain can quickly solve this issue if the material is published in blockchain. If this technology can do one thing for sure, that is, its capability to store who owns the data.

⚫ Production

Once the work is completed, many people will be involved in publishing the work, like Publication company, editors, design, marketing, management, etc. These days anyone can print a book on their own if required, but high-quality books aimed at right people with proper marketing still need big publication houses. Instead of following the centralized way, if the content is published and shared using blockchains before making it to the market, many freelancers can gain if different works like design, editing, and stuff can be shared through the platform.

⚫ Revenue Generation

Digital copies will generate money based on the traffic to a particular blog or website. Ads will increase if the traffic is more. The content creators will be paid accordingly. But, in reality, we are relying on and trusting the third-party channel on the payments. This is not working out for most of the content creators. Blockchain solves this issue by generating views using transactions. Every view can make a transaction costing the consumer for the view. Even the consumers will be happy to pay the actual content creators instead of duplicate providers.

⚫ There’s More

Apart from general problems, let’s talk about education journals. Many academic researchers, Ph.D. students, professors of the best universities have to contribute their work on their field of study in the form of some papers. Only then, they can climb the ladder and earn some fame for their work. These papers are published in very high-priced journals, which in turn don’t pay anything for the job, but the authors agree to give away their work for absolutely nothing because that’s the only way to get published.

Blockchain can create a platform for these academicians and help them get paid. Orvium is such a platform founded by former CERN and NASA employees. Reviewers of the work may charge for their services using the platform, as peer review is a must for academic publications. In turn, academicians can charge for their work to be viewed by the general public or can choose to make it completely free.

There are many startups in the publishing industry on the blockchain. Publica is for book ICO’s. Many publishers depend on the publication houses for advances when they have to start a book, but this platform allows the users to pay in advance in the form of some tokens where they will get their copies once the work is completed.

Blockchain can be used in the publishing industry in different ways as per the above for much-needed respite for the industry.

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Crypto Guides

Can we Improve Our Forecasting With The Help of Blockchain?

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

Blockchain forecasting is something that is picking up momentum these days. We can use Blockchain for both demand forecasting as well as general views of the public, where polling used to be the case for decades now. One of the critical factors of cryptocurrencies is its unpredictability. It’s the reason for its popularity among the retail investors, but at the same institutional investors stay away due to the very reason. Hence using Blockchain for forecasting is a bit of irony, but it has started proving its mettle in the prediction as well.

Demand Forecasting

Creating a demand forecasting is being proved to be a really tough deal because of the quality of the data. At the enterprise level, demand forecasting is done mostly based on the old data. For example, due to the COVID19 situation worldwide, demand has been slumped to almost zero other than essential goods.

If we consider this data for next year’s forecast, we will be doomed with the figures that come as a result. Hence, we need quality data when it comes to demand forecasting. Many enterprises have different sets of data internally and externally as per their requirement for forecasting. Enterprises using ERP and CRM systems have the code inbuilt, and it would be very tough to change the logic as per the recent evolutions in the market.

When we take FMCG companies, each company have their own set of data, but they won’t share the data with other FMCG companies due to various constraints. If they come together on a blockchain platform and share only essential data leaving inventory, pricing, and other confidential details, it would be beneficial for the whole industry. The data should be immutable, permissioned so that only people with access can view it.

If we combine the blockchain technology with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, we can extract more value from the data set. Using AI, we can know why the demand was deficient this time when we check the forecasting for next year. Alternately based on geographical conditions, weather, any external factors like elections period, if we input these fields demand that particular, region, or for a store can be easily predicted with these combined new technologies.

Predictive Data

Often during election times or with some programs as well, people or audiences of the program are asked questions to know the opinion of the people. Usually, a huge amount of data is received, which is a strength in numbers. One’s opinion on a given topic depends on the personal experience, prejudice, bias with the information available to them, which may be correct or wrong.

But what if the individuals have more data? With better quality and quantity of data, people might come up with more accurate predictions. Blockchains are, of course, made for collecting a large amount of data on a decentralized platform. Hence a blockchain prediction project can take multiple data points and come up with an accurate forecast on the input generally like prices would go up or down, consumption is likely to increase or decrease. Usually, precise predictions on what is going to happen next can be known.

Hence Blockchain is foraying into forecasting and gives more reliable forecasted figures when combined with AI/ML than any other forecasting model we have today.

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Crypto Guides

How Blockchain Can Significantly Contribute To The Agriculture Industry

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

Agriculture is the backbone of many countries. Often many countries export and import agricultural products based on their requirement. But when it comes to trade concerning agriculture till day age-old methods are used. It is often said that billions of dollars’ worth of food are wasted not because there are not people who want food but because food doesn’t reach their plates at the right time.

Why do we need Blockchain in Agriculture?

📌 Provenance Tracking

Big giants like Amazon, Walmart used to struggle to pick up any product from their shelves and know the provenance of the product. It might even take days to understand sometimes. Walmart had to recall an entire batch of pork in China as it was not able to find the whereabouts of the product, and the product was not in a condition to consume. This resulted in millions of dollars of loss.

📌 Supply Chain

Given COVID 19 situation worldwide, many industries are hit very severely. Out of all the industries hit, Restaurants/Dining out would be the worst hit since even after the lockdown is lifted, people wouldn’t be willing to dine out. To gain the trust of the customers that food is treated with utmost hygiene, one would like to know the whereabouts the food served. Hence supply chain plays a crucial role in the same. Accordingly, if the information of the product is stored in blockchain right from its origin, the trust could be gained quickly.

📌 Organic/Inorganic

It is easy to pass in organic food as organic these days. Blockchain helps to trace the origin of food.

How can we leverage Blockchain technology in Agriculture?

Farmers for either organic or inorganic food can deal with big players directly without the involvement of mediators. With the help of smart contracts and IoT sensors, right from the very initial stage of sowing the seeds to harvesting to sending the crops to the warehouses of the vendors, everything can be achieved using blockchain.

This way, the vendors will have a clear picture of where their goods are coming from, payments are made on time with no loss to the farmers. With the help of IoT sensors, the adequate temperature can be maintained for the goods which will be tracked through blockchain, ensuring the crops are not spoiled during transportation.

Companies leveraging this technology

🏭 Walmart, in partnership with IBM, developed Food Trust blockchain for tracking the provenance of food from different vendors. Walmart has asked all its vendors to get into their blockchain platform to do business with them to ensure the success of the Food Trust blockchain.

🏭 Coco-Cola built a blockchain platform to ensure ethical sugar production.

🏭 Tony’s Chocolonely – The chocolate industry is labor-intensive, and a lot of child labor is employed for the same. Cocoa farmers are impoverished as the cocoa beans supply chain is extremely complicated, and hence, they cannot decide the price for their beans. Thus, Tony’s Chocolonely has agreements directly with farmers and even pay 40% more since they know the provenance of their seeds.

🏭 Unilever (HUL) is working to check the provenance of tea in Malawi.

🏭 Dreyfus used blockchain to close a deal of Soya beans with a Chinese Supplier. The deal was finalized smoothly, cutting transaction time drastically.

Implementing blockchain in the agriculture domain is not easy. The technology should be combined with IoT for precise tracking along the supply chain. Big players though actively trying to engage the technology it takes time for the farmer to be benefitted from the same. Many platforms are being built from different players, and interoperability remains a concern. Thus it takes time to evolve to the requisite level to reap maximum benefits, but it is inevitable to use the tech in agriculture widely.

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Crypto Guides

Four Best Use Cases Of Blockchain For Governments

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

Blockchain platforms have proven themselves to be not only a platform to create and exchange cryptocurrencies but much more than that. Further, these platforms are not limited to only financial workspaces, but much more can be achieved. In this article, let us see the applications of blockchain in government institutions.

Budgetary Use Cases

I am starting the article with budgetary use case as this is very close to my heart to achieve a corruption-free world. Every government around the world has its budgetary sessions for every financial year. As per the allocations, the amount is released to each department as required. Based on the amount announced for the department, they have to design a blueprint on how the funds will be utilized for the year and all the minor details like contractors, vendors; payments should be finalized to incorporate the same in a smart contract.

Once all the details are completed, the smart contract can be launched. Everyone will be paid accordingly when predefined conditions are met. Thus, achieving a corruption field. Once a smart contract is deployed, it would be difficult to change any conditions. Hence this is a bit complex to implement, but the stakes are quite high since we envision a corruption-free world.

Digitizing The Documents

Every government has many departments often divided between state and central. Most of the governments are digitizing the records as of now. It will be an excellent use case of blockchain if the digitized materials are stored in the blockchain. Often the documents should be shared amongst immigration authorities, defense, homeland security, many more departments. A lot of paperwork and permissions should be sorted out to get adequate information, which is very time-consuming.

If all these documents are stored in the blockchain, it would be effortless to transfer the materials. The document should be shared using the only blockchain. Every view of the document from other departments can be stored as transactions; transaction approvals can be saved as different transactions. Thus, everything will be recorded. This is very useful to avoid any loss or tampering of the documents.

Voting

Voting is crucial for any democratic country to run smoothly at predefined intervals of time. There are huge limitations when it comes to conducting voting securely without any fraud. If blockchain is implemented for voting, that can be changed. Each vote can be converted into a smart contract and display the transactions publicly for everyone to view. Moscow has its voting platform on Ethereum.

They have implemented blockchain voting for urban and landscape design. Half a million people have voted their ideas for public transport, plantations, and materials to be used. Though the platform isn’t used for political polls, the success is a considerable achievement to develop blockchain for voting a full-fledged manner.

Identity

Almost all the governments around the globe have some unique identification numbers for their citizens. Social security numbers for Americans and Aadhar numbers for Indians are some examples. These identification numbers contain the most sensitive information of the citizens of a country like tax returns, income details, retina scans, fingerprints, and so much more.

If these details are hacked somehow, it would be a massive setback for the governments as it is a concern of people’s security. Hence, it is essential to safeguard such information in blockchain so that every view by different authorities can be permissioned and stored using transactions.

These are some of the use cases in government institutions where blockchain will be beneficial to enhance the efficiency and working of the government.

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Crypto Guides

Blockchain & Internet Of Things – The Brilliant Combination!

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

Blockchain alone can revolutionize many industries, as we have seen in our previous articles. But when blockchain applied together with the next generation innovative technologies such as IoT, Artificial intelligence, Machine Learning (to name a few) will do wonders. The combination of these technologies brings the best of each other. Especially in terms of security and authenticity of the data generated from millions of devices across the world on a daily basis.

What is IoT?

IoT stands for the Internet of things. It is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital devices. These devices are provided with unique identifiers that can transfer data in the network without human-to-human or human-to-machine interaction. This is possible as the devices are extended with internet connectivity and sensors so that the transfer of data is possible.

With so much data being generated and transmitted without any human intervention, there are many concerns about the security and privacy of data. Blockchain comes to rescue to address the concerns of privacy and security in the world of IoT. Let us see how, with the help of some use cases below.

Smart Homes

The concept of IoT enables smart homes. Most of the devices we use at home can be embedded with sensors, and with the help of IoT, we can control them remotely using our smartphones. When at home, they can easily be controlled using Alexa, Google Home, with the help of voice recognition. To enable all these functionalities, sensitive data such as voice and facial recognition should be stored. This data can be stored securely in the blockchain, which allows strict access restrictions. It can be accessed by anyone else if required only through individual permissions using smart contracts.

HealthCare

IoT plays a very crucial role in health care these days. Remote health care can be achieved using IoT. Elderly care is essential to most of the countries these days as the elderly population is increasing in countries like China, Japan, and the US. Since there are fewer people to take care of the elderly, IoT can come to our rescue.

With the help of IoT, if the patients don’t take medicine on time, a message will be directly sent to their smartphones, reminding them to take medication (since the quantity isn’t reduced from the containers). Whenever a fall or sudden change in a heartbeat is detected, the nearest health care providers are automatically alerted with the help of IoT. These are only some examples of uses in health care, but since this is very sensitive data, blockchain can help in keeping them secure. Most importantly, tampering cannot be done if the data is stored in the blockchain, which is very crucial to achieve the desired outcome in these cases.

Agriculture

Agriculture can be widely improved by deploying IIOT (Industrial IOT) sensors and satellite imagery to monitor the millions of acres of land. With IoT used in the supply chain, provenance tracking can be enabled. Crops can be sold by using smart contracts even before harvesting them as all this data ensures the buyer of the quality of the product from the fields to their floor. This makes a profitable trade for all the parties involved.

There are ample opportunities for blockchain and IoT together in Industrial sectors when it comes to the maintenance of the machines. With the help of sensors continuously updating the performance of the devices, wear and tear can be restricted, thus decreasing the downtime. Automobile industries can use real-time data to get the vehicles serviced on time or replace a crucial part in time. Autonomous cars can be made more reliable and usable using IoT and blockchain. The combination of IoT and Blockchain is amazing, but it is important to remember that a lot of other potentials are yet to be achieved.

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Crypto Guides

Smart Contracts – A Brief Introduction

What are Smart Contracts?

What are Smart Contracts?

What are Smart Contracts?

Smart contracts are nothing but deals that are digitally stored using digitization to enable digitalization of the business process. The smart contracts can be touted as one of the best applications of blockchain. Blockchain eliminates the middlemen in whichever industry the technology is leveraged, and smart contracts do the same. One doesn’t have to rely on a third-party player to authenticate the deal but pay some money to build the code which is suitable for all the parties involved and deploy the contract in the blockchain to make it active.

How do they work?

Smart contracts in real is a piece of code which can be written in any language that the blockchain platform may support. The code is written in such a way that when predefined parameters are met, the contract execution triggers automatically, and the conditions are met without any human intervention. This makes it very easy to handle and execute smart contracts.

Are they reliable?

Immutability is one of the essential characteristics of blockchain, as we have seen in our previous articles. Since the blockchain works on the concept of distributed ledgers, a copy of the contract will be available with every party involved. Smart contracts deployed in the blockchain network are immutable; once used, they cannot be changed. All the predefined terms should be met as agreed and signed by all the involved parties. Payments, if any concerned, will be done automatically as well without any human involvement. Thus, not delaying the cash, which makes all the parties happy about the work done. Hence the smart contracts are considered very reliable.

The real-life example of Smart Contracts

There are infinite real-life scenarios where smart contracts can be used. We all have booked tickets for our most awaited events, say concerts, movies, sports and so on. We always use a third-party website/app to book the tickets. Here the audience, as well as the event organizers, are trusting this third-party service provider with their money.

Instead of a third-party service provider, if one can deploy smart contracts in these scenarios, it would be easy to manage money. People buy their passes for the event, and this money is stored in the escrow linked to the contract. The money is not credited to the event organizers’ account unless the event is completed. If the event is completed, the funds will be automatically transferred to the organizers of the game. If not, the amount will be refunded to the audience account as per the terms and conditions of the event.

In this case, we do not depend on a third party for the refund of the amount, which may delay in case of any eventualities. We are also not paying any other extra fee to book the ticket as no third party is involved—this the best real-life example where once can use smart contracts.

Conclusion

The new technologies in our lives have come to make our life easy, and smart contracts come under such a category. We not only save money using them but also get rid of concept terminology of terms and conditions which lawyers use to cash the loopholes when something goes wrong. In this case, we use straightforward language to code the words and get them triggered as required, thus making them comfortable and very reliable to use.

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Crypto Guides

Use Cases Of Blockchain Technology – Part 2 (Food & Diamond Industries)

In our previous guide, we have discussed some of the real-life applications of Blockchain technology. Some of the critical use cases of this technology that we have discussed in the Part-1 article include Asset Tokenization, Supply Chain Management, Energy Market & Healthcare. In this guide, let’s talk Food Safety & Diamond Industry, where the blockchain technology is being used extensively to solve more significant problems.

In our previous guide, we have discussed some of the real-life applications of Blockchain technology. Some of the critical use cases of this technology that we have discussed in the Part-1 article include Asset Tokenization, Supply Chain Management, Energy Market & Healthcare. In this guide, let’s talk Food Safety & Diamond Industry, where the blockchain technology is being used extensively to solve more significant problems.

In our previous guide, we have discussed some of the real-life applications of Blockchain technology. Some of the critical use cases of this technology that we have discussed in the Part-1 article include Asset Tokenization, Supply Chain Management, Energy Market & Healthcare. In this guide, let’s talk Food Safety & Diamond Industry, where the blockchain technology is being used extensively to solve more significant problems.

🥗 Food Safety 

Do you know where your food is coming from? Any idea on where it is being produced or who produced it? Have you seen some of those viral videos where artificial cabbages are made out of some chemicals in China? Or many scams in third world countries where various food items such as cooking oil, eggs, milk, etc. are mixed with dangerous chemicals to extend the storage capacity of perishable items? Yes. All of these are true. Food companies commit some of the biggest sins on this planet.

Hence it is essential to know what kind of food you eat and how pure it is. The supply chain of food items is always complicated and opaque. There is no transparency regarding where the food is produced, packed, re-packed, etc. So there are high chances of fraud happening with the tracking technology we have as of today. But with blockchain tech, users can verify the history of the food items very quickly.

Various other details such as batch numbers, location of production, storage temperatures, where the item is packed, its expiry dates can easily be recorded as well. Since the entire blockchain is transparent, anyone who has access to the respective blockchain can gain access to all those details. If executed correctly, the efficiency of the food supply chain can easily be improved. IBM Food Trust is one such blockchain that deals with most of the problems we discussed above.

💎 Diamond Industry

We all know how precious the diamonds are. They are incredibly scarce, and that makes them one of the most luxurious jewelry items. But the Diamond industry is currently facing a lot of problems such as insurance fraud, smuggled diamonds, etc. Diamond companies are following different complex procedures to make sure quality control is in place. Also, insurance companies are taking various measures to make sure the fraud doesn’t happen. However, these measures and procedures consume a lot of time and money. But what if we say there is one simple solution to all these problems?

Yes, the solution is Blockchain technology. Using this tech, provenance tracking can be done for the diamonds at every stage of its production, like from where they are mined to the retail stores. Typically, a serial number is given to the diamonds, which capture close to 40 properties of it. This serial number is embedded on the diamond while cutting & polishing it. All of these parameters related to a particular diamond can be stored in a blockchain. There’s a company known as EverLedger, who does exactly this. Essentially they convert the physical asset into a digital asset by taking all of its information for provenance tracking. As of today, they are tracking over 2 million diamonds, and by these services, users are sure that they have made the right purchase.

Some of the biggest problems in the world like terrorism can be tackled if companies like EverLedger prevail in the market. Blood diamonds are one of the largest ways of funding terrorist groups around the globe. Illegal mining of diamonds can completely be eliminated with the help of blockchain technology.

These are just two of the many industries where blockchain is being used for improving the existing conditions. Some of the other major industries include Real-Estate, Intellectual Property, e-governance, etc. We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Cheers!

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Crypto Guides

Some Of The Top Use Cases of Blockchain In Real Life – Part 1

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

Blockchain is a new revolutionary technology. Its features have guided technologists to look at the technology efficiently and innovatively. Before getting right into the use cases of blockchain, let’s see some of the primary technical features of this technology.

The technical features include,

  • The use of distributed ledger technology
  • Security through cryptography
  • Ability to have smart contracts logic embedded into it

With these features, there are several compelling uses cases of blockchain that we believe will reduce inefficiency and unlock more valuable areas in the existing industries. Here are some of the most compelling use cases of this technology.

💰 Asset Tokenization

Without any doubt, the most compelling use cases of blockchain are the application in financial services and asset tokenization in finance in particular. Using blockchain technology, illiquid assets can easily be converted into its tokenized form and can be efficiently fractionalized. It can even be traded and settled on-chain. In this way, it does not have to go through the lengthy process of clearing and settlement processes. TOkenization will also unlock liquidity for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and real estate owners.

Alphapoint, Polymath, Harbor, Smart Valor are working on a platform for asset tokenization.

🚚 Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management is another great use case of blockchain technology. Transparency in the supply chain is one of the biggest problems firms tend to face. But, one of the features of blockchain eliminates this issue. Blockchain allows anyone in the network to access the database and act as a single source of truth referred to as consensus. From a consumer’s point of view, blockchain can help find the genuineness of products that are claimed to be.

Vechain and Origin Trail are examples that are currently working in this domain.

⚡ Energy Market

A few large corporations control the energy market in any given geography. To decentralize the market, blockchain technology can be of great use. If electricity is traded like any other commodity, prices in the commodity market would be affected by forces like demand and supply as well, instead of being a fixed regulated price.

Power Ledger and Grid+ are examples of peer to peer energy trading.

🚑 Healthcare

In the present state of healthcare technology, patient data is held across different institutions in legacy silos in several different formats and standards, making sharing of information ill-suited for the modern world. Although the healthcare industry has improved a lot over the years, blockchain technology can make the situation better. This generation requires data to be available to the users instantly. And Blockchain can get this into play. Blockchain technology can record patient information on a distributed ledger, which allows different institutions to access data as a single source of truth. Also, with blockchain, the access to patient’s health records is more secure as it is encrypted.

Medicalchain is an example of a healthcare data exchange platform.

These are only some of the most compelling use cases for blockchain technology. In our upcoming article, we will be discussing the applications of this groundbreaking tech in different other industries. So, stay tuned!

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Cryptocurrencies

What are the Real-Life Use Cases of Blockchain?

Blockchain is transforming the world around us. Introduced to the world by Bitcoin – the world’s most successful and popular cryptocurrency, blockchain has taken a life of its own and is slowly taking over industries. And why not? It’s a revolutionary technology that could instill transparency, promote accountability, and help us streamline processes like never before.

Blockchain is transforming the world around us. Introduced to the world by Bitcoin – the world’s most successful and popular cryptocurrency, blockchain has taken a life of its own and is slowly taking over industries. And why not? It’s a revolutionary technology that could instill transparency, promote accountability, and help us streamline processes like never before.

Blockchain is transforming the world around us. Introduced to the world by Bitcoin – the world’s most successful and popular cryptocurrency, blockchain has taken a life of its own and is slowly taking over industries. And why not? It’s a revolutionary technology that could instill transparency, promote accountability, and help us streamline processes like never before.

In this article, we look at some of the real-world blockchain implementations that are changing how things are done in respective spheres – from music to governance to insurance to healthcare and more.

Media

Ujo Music is a blockchain platform that lets artists users create, publish, distribute music, get rightfully compensated, and retain full copyrights. The Ujo platform is decentralized and transparent so that artists can see and verify anything without having to consult or rely on a centralized identity.

Transactions to purchase music are conducted directly using Ether. Transactions are also secured using an Ethereum Chrome plugin known as Metamask. This built-in payment infrastructure allows Ujo to provide a blockchain-based streaming service with better convenience and reliability than ‘legacy’ streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and so on.

Real Estate

UbitQuity is a blockchain-based platform that aims to change centuries-old real estate transaction and record-keeping methods. It is one of the first platforms that offers a software-as-a-service (SaaS) to help real estate firms organizations achieve transparency, security, and accountability.

When a transaction takes place, information about the property is automatically recorded on a stack, thus saving time on future searches and increasing confidence of the customer and transparency for the whole process. Also, details of the transaction are immutable (permanent), and the buyer and the seller can both refer to the blockchain for details of the transaction at any time.

Identification

Uport is a company that helps to build and maintain trust between people and organizations by providing a decentralized, blockchain-based identity system. Anyone can register and store a globally unique identity onto the Ethereum blockchain, allowing users to take control of their identity, user accounts, and so on.

Also, users can issue and request credentials – including attestations, verifications, certificates, badges, and more. Uport’s platform also lets users digitally authorize transactions, legal documents, and other material using TouchID authentication. Examples of applications of the Uport include attendees’ verification at the third Developer Conference, registering citizens at Zug, Switzerland, and verifying identity and documents at the Brazil Ministry of Planning.

Manufacturing

LO3 Energy is a blockchain platform that allows users to manage their energy consumption by giving them the ability to generate, buy, store, and sell energy at the community level. To do so, they use Smart meter – an electronic device that records energy consumption, API (Application User Interface), blockchain, and Grid. The API and Grid provide a collaborative network with ‘legacy’ grid systems

The blockchain is for recording transactions and lets everyone on the network – buyer, seller, energy provider, etc. verify and have a copy of transactions. This saves a lot of back and forth time that would be spent verifying transaction details across different parties.

Finance

Aeternity is a smart contract interface that enables organizations to work with real-time and real-world data. The platform’s vision is to provide next-generation, unmatched scalability, and transparent governance.

Aeternity allows users to create smart contracts that become active when network consensus agrees that agreement terms have been met. For example, parties to a transaction could agree that the conditions have been met for automated payment. The consensus is achieved via a hybrid of Proof of Work and Proof of Stake consensus mechanisms.

Healthcare

MedRec is a blockchain platform that allows patients’ health history and data to be stored and accessed across different health providers, individuals, and healthcare specialists. On the part of patients, it helps them to have their medical information right at their fingertips. It also saves time that would have been spent cross-checking patients’ histories, allowing healthcare providers to administer timely care to patients. 

MedRec also protects patients’ privacy by not ‘storing’ data directly, but rather encoding metadata (data that give info about other data) through which records can be discreetly accessed by patients, healthcare personnel, and so on.

Supply Chain

Blockverify is a blockchain platform that aims to introduce transparency to supply chains. It’s a “blockchain-based anti-counterfeit solution” with a built-in mechanism for identifying counterfeit products and thus protecting brands.

Blockverify offers a transparent environment where it’s impossible to duplicate products. It will not only detect a counterfeit product already in possession, but it will also identify a product that has been diverted from its original destination and track it down. It can track fraudulent transactions of any type throughout the chain. Also, companies do not need to rely on trust because every step of the system is open for every participant to see.

Cybersecurity

Remme is a cybersecurity blockchain project that aims to protect users’ and companies’ data from cyber attacks. Its goal is to improve from the current standards of security to public key infrastructure (PKI) apps for the modern web.  Its products include a protocol that uses block producers to provide consistency and fault tolerance. They also enable companies to register keys on the Remme blockchain, as well as validate transactions by combining them into blocks.

Remme utilizes a delegated proof of consensus to allow block producers to validate the information that will be appended on the blockchain and ensures nodes are in agreement about the priority of how entries will be added. Its KeyHub product helps to track expired certificate dates, potential vulnerabilities, and any policy violations in the system.

Data Management

Factom is a company that aims to protect businesses, governments, and non-profits from data theft and instill transparency in systems. It provides data-layer technology to preserve and validate digital assets. It uses a Backend as a Service (BaaS) platform that makes it easy to secure data by employing a cryptographically unique fingerprint of the data, enabling clients to audit and share sensitive documents.

By using blockchain, organizations can achieve transparency, integrity, and security of data and also enable them to meet compliance and identity requirements. The Factom software can be used on a plug and play basis, allowing users to use it on the go without having to build an infrastructure from scratch.

Content Distribution

Paperchain is a blockchain solution that enables companies, artists, news organizations, etc. to have a decentralized, peer-to-peer marketplace. In this environment, parties can push their content and get paid for it while circumventing the current industry’s convoluted payment cycles. 

It aims to solve the problem in the current distribution and payment model where content creators can get paid months away from the time content is consumed for the first time. Paperchain takes the data of that content consumption, prices it, and closes the payment gap on the spot, so that content owners can get paid the same day.  

Advertising

NYIAX is a blockchain software solution that allows advertisers to trade advertising contracts via the use of a patented financial matching engine. Advertisers can buy, sell, and rent digital ad space as guaranteed contracts with complete clarity and transparency – thus boosting confidence among all parties.

As advertisers and other players trade advertising inventory, the use of distributed ledger and smart contracts offers an immutable and open record of transactions. Also, blockchain-based smart contracts automate the process, providing better returns on investment by reducing labor costs during the deal lifecycle.

Insurance

AIG, the international insurance company, is using blockchain technology to enable faster, borderless, and collaborative policy creation. The blockchain solution is based on Hyperledger Fabric. Coordinating and placement of insurance policies in multiple countries is a time-consuming and very complex process. This is where blockchain comes in. It helps the company streamline complex multinational processes and facilitate real-time sharing of policy information.

It also instills trust and transparency in the risk evaluation, and analyzing the process, enabling AIG to provide multinational insurance services more efficiently. Overall, the blockchain solution helps AIG achieve a new level of trust, reduce errors, clear backlog, and provide faster and more reliable services to clients.

Governance

Democracy Earth is an ambitious project to solve world issues like forced migration, terrorism, and unequal resource distribution through open-source decision-making software based on blockchain. The software can be used by both large and small institutions – “from the most local involving two people to the most global involving all of us.”

With this open-source, peer-to-peer decision-making network, Democracy Earth hopes political intermediation or political leadership will no longer be necessary. The project is currently building Sovereign, decentralized, and open-source democratic governance that can be used by any organization. The end goal of Democracy Earth is to have liquid democracy, complete ownership of personal data, borderless governance and censorship-resistant voting, debates, and ideas.

Conclusion

Blockchain is here to stay, and it will change how we interact with our environment and even with each other. It has the potential to help us achieve levels of transparency never seen before, make processes quicker, and cut red tape. Industry leaders need to shift their focus and incorporate blockchain in their businesses, which will not just improve how we conduct business but also society itself.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Blockchain – Public, Distributed, Global Ledgers

You have probably already heard the term ‘Blockchain’ in the context of a new technological innovation. You would not be wrong to compare this advancement with other significant innovations such

You have probably already heard the term ‘Blockchain’ in the context of a new technological innovation. You would not be wrong to compare this advancement with other significant innovations such

You have probably already heard the term ‘Blockchain’ in the context of a new technological innovation. You would not be wrong to compare this advancement with other significant innovations such as the Internet because of its far and wide-reaching applications. What makes it so unique?

Consider an online Google document. When you create a document and share it with two other people, the original document remains, but everyone has access to it. The document is considered ‘decentralized’ since it can be accessed and modified by multiple people at the same time. The best part about such an online document is that everyone sees all the changes (and can even track them) when they are made, making it very transparent.

While blockchain is a tad more complicated technology than a Google doc, this analogy lays bare three vital features of blockchain:

☑️It is a digital record of events (transactions) that is distributed among many people. It is not copied or transferred copies.

☑️It is decentralized. This means that multiple individuals have real-time access to the asset and is not ‘owned’ or ‘controlled’ by a single entity or person.

☑️It is transparent. Being a ledger, all the people with access to it can trust the document since all the changes are preserved when made. 

So, what is blockchain?

Blockchain is best described as a distributed database. It is a storage technology where a digital ledger of transactions are stored in groups of transactions or sequence of blocks, chained together and distributed among many users in the network. This is where the term ‘blockchain’ originates.

Because blockchain is a way to keep records of items stored in millions of computers all over the world, it is essential to understand that it is not a device or currency. Think of it as an incorruptible ledger of transactions that are connected to each other such that one cannot be altered without requiring the alteration of all the other linked records.

Blockchain is undeniably an ingenious invention that is already conquering every aspect of modern human life – almost as much as electricity and the Internet did. This technology was the brainchild of one or a group of individuals known by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. To this day, the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is still unknown.

Satoshi Nakamoto introduced blockchain to the world sometime in 2009 with the publication of the Bitcoin whitepaper. This innovation was largely inspired by the 2007/8 financial crisis, whose primary cause was the manipulation of the property market by financial banks. Bitcoin emerged as a currency alternative that would be free from manipulation, devaluation, taxation, or control by a central body. However, blockchain, the technology on which it runs, has since then evolved into something much more significant than just money and touching on almost every industry.

The humble beginnings of Blockchain

Contrary to what most people believe today, blockchain technology did not just arise out of nothingness with the publication of the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008. Before it found its application in cryptocurrency, blockchain was a concept in computer science that had been around since 1979. In particular, it was theorized for use, in its primitive form, in the domains of data structures and cryptography.

With the invention of the hash tree by Ralph Merkle, patented as the Merkle tree in 1979, the first form of blockchain was already in practical use. Back then, the hash tree was used to handle and to verify data transferred between computer systems in peer-to-peer networks. The hash tree proved useful in validating data and ensuring the integrity of the data in the receiving system. This technology also ensured that false data was not transmitted and that users could prove the integrity of information shared using these early computers.

By 1991, the Merkle tree had evolved enough to create a chain of secured blocks of information. The series of data records, designed to be connected to previous blocks in the series, now contained a history of all the chains in the tree. With this addition, blockchain was born.

When Satoshi Nakamoto conceptualized the idea of a distributed blockchain that contained a secure history of all the data exchanged in the network, it gave rise to a world of possibilities that resulted in the invention of Bitcoin. What made this possible was that the security and transparency of transactions in the peer-to-peer network could be timestamped, and each transaction could be verified over the internet. The best part of the new technology was that it could be managed autonomously, and no single entity could claim absolute authority.

But what makes blockchain special?

Blockchain is a string of secured data that cannot be controlled by a single authority. The shared, immutable ledger that the connected chains of data forms has industry-disrupting capabilities for the simple reason that it is an ideal and practical democratized system.

While the information on this system is available for everyone to see and verify authenticity, it is almost impossible to alter, hence trusted. When blockchain is applied to any industry, it brings this nature of transparency with it, making it easy for countless individuals to be involved in it while maintaining accountability for every action or activity on the ledger.

Blockchain was first demonstrated to be practical and effective with the release of the Bitcoin Whitepaper, and it was quickly applied in digital currency. Soon after, the tech community found a lot many useful and practical uses of blockchain, and many more were theorized not so long later. One of the top features of blockchain that stood out almost immediately was that transactions carried out on the network carried no cost whatsoever. However, infrastructural investment was necessary to make it functional.

Benefits of global distributed ledgers

Consider the blocks of information on the blockchain as collections of data, much like records of financial accounts on a ledger. The chain, with all its benefits, is a very simple yet ingenious way to pass the data from one point to another in a secure and verifiable manner. The sender initiates the transaction, which is verified by hundreds, thousands, or even millions of computers that are part of the network.

When a block of transactions is verified, it is added to the chain and safely stored on the network, with a copy being stored on every computer on the network. The copy of the transaction will not only be unique in the record, but also in the history of records within the chain. This means that for a party on the network to alter or falsify the record, they would have to alter all the records in the chain sitting on all the computers on the network at the same time. This is almost impossible because it would take a lot of resources.

Bitcoin was a hugely successful and first virtual currency running on the oldest blockchain network because this format of storing information and conducting transactions could be trusted by all the parties in the network.

In summation, blockchain’s core benefits that make it ideal for use in cryptocurrency are:

☑️Efficiency and speed: Transactions on a blockchain can be completed much faster and more efficiently compared to the paper-heavy traditional processes that often involve a third-party. Considering that record keeping on a blockchain system is carried out on a single digital ledger available in real-time to all the peers in the network, clearing and settlement are super fast.

☑️Enhanced security: Before being recorded, transactions on a blockchain must be agreed upon aforehand. Once approved, transactions are encrypted and linked with previous and next transactions in a way that makes them tamper-proof. This is what makes blockchain ideal for use in any industry where the protection of sensitive data is crucial – from governance and financial services to healthcare and manufacturing.

☑️Great transparency: Since blockchain is essentially a digital ledger technology where all participants keep a copy of all ‘documentation,’ the data on it is not only alter-proof but also consistent and transparent. Data and transactions carried out in a transparent manner can be trusted by anyone who has access to it and can verify authenticity.

☑️Better traceability: Companies that deal in products that are manufactured and traded in complex supply chains often have a hard time tracing items in the market back to their origins to verify authenticity. With blockchain, each product can carry with it a history of transaction data that can go a long way in preventing fraud. To make this practical, manufacturers and distributors would need to record exchanges of the goods on a blockchain in such a way that an audit trail can show every stop and change of hand a product underwent.

☑️Lower costs of transactions: Every business needs to cut the costs of transactions as much as they can to increase their profits. Businesses that adopt distributed ledgers in their operations will need fewer third-parties and middlemen to make guarantees or carry out transactions since this technology builds trust between trading partners. They just need to trust the data on the blockchain to minimize the need to review every trading process or documentation.

The extent of blockchain disruption today

Make no mistake about this: blockchain is a very disruptive technology that is already revolutionizing how the world works – even if you do not ‘feel’ it yet. While you may have already heard of how it is shifting the way we use the internet and how we view money, the global economy is quickly adapting to inevitable takeover by the digitization of assets.

The fundamental shift from the present-day Internet of information to the age of distributed data as assets is a clear sign that the new global economy with no intermediaries is happening, and nobody – not even the biggest banks and multinational tech companies making money off data – can stop it.

Blockchain technology was originally developed to help solve the various economic challenges facing the financial industry. But it has proven that it can achieve much more.

It can be programmed to record and store virtually any other form of data in any industry.

As a result, we have seen the development of different types of Blockchain, each of which is aimed at helping solve more than just financial challenges. Ethereum, for instance, has smart contracts and many other applications, which we will explain later.