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Cryptocurrencies

 9 Best Blockchain Project Ideas for 2021

The blockchain market is estimated to exceed $39.7 billion by 2025, thanks to a growing need for smooth supplier management and simplified business operations. Blockchain promises secure data and easier recording of the transaction value. 

Since its introduction in 2009, blockchain has been a revelation for businesses looking to use technology to transform their current business model for more reliability, security, and transparency. Similar to 2020, blockchain technology is transitioning from the experimental stage to real business-ready solutions.

The adoption rate across different markets is expected to rise, and this presents a business opportunity. If you are looking to make your mark through blockchain technologies, then the following ideas will come in handy. 

Blockchain Digital Identity

Contemporary businesses often collect a lot of personal information, creating new business risks. Investments in powerful data vaults are not viable in the long run, as the tight-lipped systems can affect the drive for true customer understanding and product development. 

By 2025, the number of interconnected devices is estimated to rise to 22 billion. The majority of IoT technologies do not incorporate critical access and identity controls. There are already some major IT vendors providing IoT management systems to bridge the gap, but they often fall short.

The mismatching standards and hundreds of traditional servers make it complicated to implement management capabilities across devices. Blockchain promises practical solutions for interconnected devices.

The Distributed Ledger technology based on blockchain will ensure secure data storage in a tamper-proof, unified, and interoperable infrastructure. The benefit is a smooth and straightforward identification for employees and clients in some of the most sensitive industries. 

Blockchain digital identity is expected to improve manageability and control of personally identifiable information. So far, IBM and Accenture are some of the companies throwing their hat into the ring and already making significant progress with the blockchain digital identity project. 

Healthcare Medical Records Management

There are claims that blockchain technology can save billions in support function costs, staff costs, data breach, and IT-related costs in the healthcare industry.

A decentralized and secure blockchain-powered platform can support the storage and exchange of personal medical data. Hospital staff can then easily use the technology to update medical records.

One of the industry pioneers is Medicalchain, and they are already making significant progress, having signed a cooperation agreement with Mayo clinic. But still, the healthcare industry is largely uncharted territory, especially in the management of medical records, and therefore a great blockchain project idea for 2021. 

Stock Market Application 

The stock market has transformed many people’s lives and is an essential foundation for a country’s economy. It has its shortcomings, and the application of blockchain technology can significantly enhance its efficiency.

One area that blockchain can transform tremendously is the settlement process that every trade has to go through, which takes several days. The delays come from exchanges, clearinghouses, and regulatory processes. 

A blockchain system can potentially reduce the settlement process time to only a few minutes. The system is more efficient, and stock market trading will become more efficient with the advantage of decreasing errors.

A blockchain-based stock market application has the following advantages:

  • Easy to use
  • Enhanced transparency and fairness
  • Improved interoperability to increase trust
  • The clearing and settlement process becomes quick and easy
  • Risk containment mechanism

Logistics and Transport

Most of the logistics and supply chain systems are ineffective and outdated. Getting rid of intermediaries and improving transparency and efficiency in logistics can save companies millions of dollars.

Typically, a decentralized supply chain system that leverages blockchain technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) can improve transactions’ reliability and automate product traceability. Authentication for the transactions can be through blockchain to minimize errors and replace ineffective manual practices. The blockchain-enabled controls will reduce the chances of introducing counterfeit products into the supply chain, thereby ensuring integrity.

In transport, the blockchain technologies are scalable, immediate, easy to authenticate and track. With the blockchain’s help, businesses can easily track their truck components on a digital ledger for efficiency and reduced costs. The decentralized public ledger will record all adjustments in real-time and reduce clerical errors. 

The following factors are some of the things that make this an exciting blockchain project idea for 2021: 

  • Reduced transport costs
  • Easy documentation and coordination
  • Improved security and authentication
  • Quick and easy approval and clearance

Although companies such as Chronicled have already started the project in 2020, there is still much to do in logistics and supply chain management for 2021.

Decentralized Apps

Basing a business on Bitcoin (BTC) is not the wisest decision, as the system is vulnerable to high fees and instability. Currently, the BTC developers do not have a clear roadmap, which can sometimes affect the business model in the future. 

Decentralized applications (dApps) are based on blockchain and outside the control of a single entity. A standard web application such as Facebook runs on a computer system, where a single organization controls its backend. 

Building Dapps on Tezos and other smart contract platforms is a sensible thing to do to ensure business continuity. Beyond the control of a single entity, the decentralized environment is more transparent, secure, stable, and easier to use. The built-in medium of exchange in Dapps will potentially boost the adoption of cryptocurrencies.

As a result, many observers predict that Dapps will have an extensive global impact. 

Dapps are a viable project idea that you can sell to the numerous organizations and startups using bitcoin core and who seek stability for the future. 

Blockchain Consultancy

No doubt, the blockchain market is growing exponentially, and the need for a consultant increases by the day. In the following few years, more and more businesses will be lining up to leverage blockchain technology to stay relevant in the market. 

What makes it an excellent project idea for 2021 is the increasing number of businesses and individuals willing to listen to your blockchain project proposals. Unlike in the past, decision-makers in the business sector already know the benefits of blockchain and will be ready to hear how to make blockchain work for them.

There are various areas to specialize in as a blockchain consultant. For example, you can help strategize and develop a cryptocurrency community, airdrops, and logistics. Even though the industry is in its infancy, many businesses and people need help to leverage technology and ensure sustainability on-the-market. 

Voting Apps

The voting process, especially in developing countries, is usually a source of conflict that mostly erodes some of the gains made between the voting periods. The problem is generally tampering with the voting process and privacy.

Blockchain-based voting applications can streamline the voting process, protect critical data, reduce fraud, and enhance accountability. It can eliminate weaknesses that some proponents bank on to delegitimize the entire process while also maintaining the security of government and citizen’s data. 

Some of the benefits of a voting app blockchain project include:

  • Improved security and safety
  • Streamlined processes
  • Reduced redundancies
  • Improved integrity of the data
  • Cost reduction
  • Efficient process

Cryptocurrency Oracle

First conceived in the 1990s by researcher Nick Szabo, smart contracts have taken off with the advent of blockchain technology. The use of software and protocols to enforce an agreement’s performance or negotiation eliminates the need for laws or third parties. However, smart contracts are not sufficient on their own. Smart contracts need translator software to understand the terms, and that is where a cryptocurrency oracle comes in.

An oracle is a translator that provides critical data to trigger smart contracts after the original terms are met. The demand for the middleware software models is growing as businesses and governments implement blockchain platforms.

Apart from smart contracts, the other blockchain areas where oracle can prove useful include financial derivatives and betting. However, this is a very demanding project where you need to be a blockchain programming guru. 

Personal Finance Management

More than ever, people are focused on their finances and are taking action to ensure financial stability. A personal finance application has the potential to give businesses a fair amount of traction in an increasingly competitive market.

A blockchain-based app can easily categorize income and expenses in real-time and help manage finances. Such a system can easily connect with financial institutions to automatically update data and activate notifications.

What makes it a viable project idea for 2021 is its potential to help individuals take charge of their finances. Transparency, decreased error, traceability, and reconciliation are always welcome features in such a finance app. The added advantage of security and safety will significantly improve its standing. 

Final Thoughts

Like any other nascent technology, the early years of blockchain were characterized by growth spurts and evolving personality, much like a child that entered puberty. Blockchain , which just turned 11 a few weeks ago, is already exceeding expectations, which is more than you can expect from a technology still in its youth. The technology is now mature, and enterprise-ready solutions are hitting the market.

For the technically savvy, blockchain presents a golden opportunity for such projects as blockchain consultancy, stock market application, and decentralized apps. You can be part of the blockchain pioneers that create solutions with the capability to disrupt entire industries in 2021.

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Crypto Guides

Can we Improve Our Forecasting With The Help of Blockchain?

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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Cryptocurrencies

How Can the Energy Industry Benefit from Blockchain?

Blockchain is usually perceived as only the building block of the much-hyped virtual currencies. As such, it wouldn’t seem like there is much technology can do for the energy industry. After all, what do cryptocurrencies have to do with the process of generating and distributing electrical power?

But from an insider’s look, blockchain has the potential to spur growth in the energy sector through its transformative benefits. More so, the energy industry is constantly changing – as seen from the entry of new innovations such as smart metering, electric vehicles, and renewable sources of energy. As such, blockchain technology is a viable solution to help improve efficiency in the industry. 

Ways Blockchain can be used in the Energy Industry.

Blockchain technology promotes transparency and immutability of stored data through its decentralized nature as a ledger system. These characteristics can be beneficial to the complex network of participants in the energy distribution chain, who often suffer from siloed infrastructures and unexpected inefficiencies. 

Here is a detailed look into six major benefits blockchain brings in to the energy industry; 

i) Improved Data Management 

Being a ledger system, blockchain can serve as a database providing users with secure and real-time energy usage data. Other important energy statistics, such as market prices, marginal costs, and fuel prices, can also be stored in the system to allow users to monitor how much they spend on energy. 

Additionally, the blockchain-based database system makes it impossible to corrupt the stored data, which helps enhance transparency. This saves energy providers as well as customers the financial costs associated with accidental clerical errors and intentional data manipulation.

ii) Peer-to-peer Energy Trading 

Over the last few years, energy production has shifted from large, centralized power plants to smaller power generation sources such as windmills and solar farms. This is especially true in “distributed energy grid” systems where electricity is generated and stored by small power plants that are connected to the larger electric grid. 

The integration of blockchain into the system allows the smaller farms to sell excess power to other consumers, decentralizing the energy distribution network. Essentially, the technology creates a peer-to-peer energy market, reducing the role of wholesale and central authorities entities. This helps promote competitive market prices.

iii)Enhance Commodity Trading 

Commodity trading in the energy sector involves massive ledger systems that keep account of the commodity prices at specific moments. Maintaining, securing, and updating these records requires significant resources in terms of money and time, which could otherwise be used to improve other core areas of the trading cycle. 

Applying blockchain technology to commodity trading makes it easier and more affordable to securely record trading data as compared to traditional ledger systems.

iv) Tokenizing Energy

Blockchain can be used to create tokens for use within the energy industry. One of the uses of these tokens is to facilitate a variety of energy market transactions, such as paying bills directly to the provider without involving an intermediary.

In addition to being a medium of payment, the tokens can also serve as an incentive. For instance, by tokenizing the energy grid, consumers can earn tokens for reducing energy wastage in their households. 

Similarly, a tokenized energy grid means that energy is expended depending on household needs. This not only helps with the reduction of energy wastage but also cuts down on utility bills since consumers pay for the exact amount of power they need.

v) Propel Clean Energy as a Mainstream Option 

As governments and environmental activists advocate for clean energy, blockchain can be used to promote the use of renewable energy. This can be achieved by creating a blockchain-based smart grid that allows consumers to compare and choose their energy providers. The transparency in energy choices facilitates the integration of clean energy in the market, where renewables could become consumers’ favorite choice due to their affordability. 

The State of Blockchain in the Energy Industry

Currently, blockchain hasn’t fully permeated the energy industry despite its promising benefits. This is not to say that there aren’t any blockchain-based projects carving a niche for themselves in the vast energy market. In fact, some of them have even partnered with their respective governments to improve service delivery.

However, a good number of blockchain projects are still under development and are yet to materialize their solutions. Their delayed success can be attributed to the following challenges:

  • Conservative Industry Players

Success in an older industry like energy demands solid working experience and knowledge, considering that it’s intertwined with other complex sectors such as law and finance. Therefore, blockchain entrepreneurs need an insider’s insight on how blockchain can be beneficial to the energy industry.

Unfortunately, those with vast working experience and market knowledge of the energy industry aren’t inclined to blockchain solutions. They prefer old hat solutions which have served them fairly well for long. Probably, as the crypto space matures, key industry players in the energy sector will warm up to blockchain solutions. In the meantime, educating the stakeholders on the benefits of blockchain might be helpful.

  • Legacy Gatekeepers 

The integration of blockchain into the energy industry will result in a decentralized market. While such a marketplace is beneficial to the consumers, it threatens the existence of major banks and businesses who, for years, have benefited as intermediaries. Even without taking out their role as the middleman, their control will be diluted once blockchain enters the industry. As such, the industry giants are committed to slowing down the integration of blockchain into the energy industry so as to retain their control over the market. 

  • Strict Government Regulations 

Blockchain has been met with the same type of austerity measures that are imposed on virtual currencies. Likewise, the global energy market, being one of the highly regulated industries in the world, hasn’t been easy on blockchain technology either. It gets even worse knowing that the industry is run by conservative stakeholders who are skeptical about blockchain technology. As such, designing a blockchain solution that can find favor among industry players and energy-sector regulators is quite difficult. 

Conclusion 

Blockchain is a relatively new technology whose awareness is limited to the tech-savvy population. So, the idea of this technology finding use outside the cryptocurrency market is still catching on. In an older industry such as the energy sector, the technology will certainly take time before industry players see it as a solution to existing problems. Hopefully, as aggressive blockchain developers continue to design solutions for the industry, their solutions might serve as the entry point of blockchain into the energy industry. 

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Cryptocurrencies

How Can Blockchain Help End Poverty? 

Blockchain has been lauded as an absolute game-changer that could improve society in so many ways. 

But there’s one area that could greatly benefit from the technology that has not received as much attention, and that is global poverty. 

According to the World Bank, about 750 million people somewhere in the world are living under the poverty line. Some of the factors contributing to this figure are the lack of access to banking facilities, lack of proper property documentation systems, and corruption.

Blockchain can help tackle poverty across the globe by doing what it does best: providing tamper-proof record-keeping models, promoting radical transparency, and being a decentralized platform that’s inclusive for all. 

Let’s explore the ways in which this could be a reality. 

Economic Identity

According to the World Bank, about 1.7 billion or the world’s population is unbanked or underbanked. This is due to these people lacking proper identification or not having a credit history. This renders them unqualified for opening a bank account. In turn, they can’t access loans to start a business or save up money to build wealth. This causes them to remain trapped in poverty. 

Blockchain can help solve this by providing a decentralized and immutable platform where people can properly document their identity. Blockchain-powered platforms in organizations and governments would help more people access financial services that would start them on the journey towards economic empowerment.

Property Rights

In many places around the world, especially in developing countries, there are no proper systems of tracking property rights, and where they exist, they’re either fractured or incomplete. Land registry systems are either unreliable or marred by corruption.

Yet owning property is one way to combat poverty. People can sell land and pay school fees or start a business. They can cultivate crops and participate in the economy. The lack of proper property registry keeps people stuck in poverty, as well as causing conflict. 

Blockchain can help solve this. Blockchain-based property documentation can help grant many of the world’s poor their first undeniable asset. Since blockchain records are immutable, documented property would be immune from fraud or manipulation. Several countries are already experimenting with blockchain-based land registries: including Bermuda, Ghana, India, Russia, Rwanda, and so on. 

Access to Money

One of the biggest hurdles to providing financial aid to the poor quickly and efficiently is the numerous steps involved in the banking process. This is even more so when borders and international regulations are in play. Add to this the administrative costs and banking fees, and a lot of the money ends up swallowed in the process. 

Blockchain can help solve this by providing a peer-to-peer framework where people can receive money as soon as it’s disbursed. No need for footing administrative labor costs, paying extra banking fees, or waiting for days for funds to reach individuals. This can prove even more useful in times of acute needs when money could practically help save lives. 

We’re already seeing this functionality in play. The United Nations tested a  cryptocurrency-based model of voucher-giving to Syrian refugees who could then redeem them for food items. About 10,000 people utilized the vouchers and got faster access to food relief, as opposed to if multiple international banking channels and procedures had had to be followed. 

Financial Inclusion

Exclusion from the world’s financial system is why millions remain impoverished. And this is partly because they’re unbanked. Banks themselves require a lot of money to set up. As such, building banks with the requisite infrastructure, especially in poor regions, is an expensive and often difficult endeavor. 

Blockchain eliminates the need for banks. All people need is a mobile phone with internet connectivity for them to access financial services and manage their finances. There is no need for complex infrastructures, bureaucratic procedures, hidden costs, or the corrupt interference of local authorities. 

Blockchain treats people the same way; it doesn’t recognize whether you’re a high-flying career banker in Manhattan or a poor farmer in Kazakhstan. It’s this indiscriminate and inclusive nature of the technology that could help lift many out of poverty. 

Creating Transparency and Reducing Corruption

Corruption is a disease that keeps people trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty. When public funds are stolen, people are denied basic services like healthcare, water, decent sanitary conditions, and so on. 

Blockchain is immutable, transparent, and secure, and it can help minimize the avenues for corruption. On a public blockchain, anyone can see the history of records and where the money is going. 

The immutability, i.e., the unalterable nature of blockchain records, means no one can manipulate records. As such, it would be impossible for corrupt officials to embezzle or redirect funds. Even if they attempted, the blockchain would show who did it, and when. 

Monetizing Microtransactions

Blockchain-based currencies can help assign value to items at smaller prices, making transactions cost-effective. People can purchase value with very tiny amounts of money, e.g., a small amount of data at 0.000001 of crypto. 

This level of micro transactions opens avenues for more people to participate in global commerce. In this way, individuals can also prove their credit-worthiness and gain access to credit. A poor grocery keeper on the other side of the world can easily show the cryptocurrency in their wallet and prove that they’re a good candidate for a loan. This means banks can take more risk than they would have and service more people. In return, this opens up the economy for the betterment of everyone. 

Supporting Micro-lending and Micro-trading

Once again, blockchain’s ability to support microtransactions can foster micro-lending and help people pull themselves out of poverty. 

In the past and even now, micro-lending has gotten a bad rap thanks to exorbitantly high-interest rates and unscrupulous loan sharks.

Blockchain could help solve this. First, it would massively help reduce the administrative costs for processing loans, allowing microlenders to administer more loans and extend their services to more borrowers. 

Blockchain tech would also enable farmers in poor regions to engage in micro-trading by giving them direct access to the market and sell their products at fair prices – without the need for expensive markups. Blockchain would help them sell small sizes of products since with the technology, even the smallest sizes will be profitable and economically viable. 

Insurance

This is one of the most interesting ways in which blockchain can help reduce poverty. Traditionally, insurance is usually too expensive for the average person and the poor. This is due to the byzantine administrative channels involved, or simply the service costs being beyond the reach of many. There’s also the issue of corruption in which contributors to insurance schemes are denied payments in the time of need, often under flimsy justifications. 

Blockchain can greatly help to change this by providing a system where people can verify payment records and help deter fraud. Blockchain-based accounting procedures can also reduce admin costs by a ton. 

Blockchain can also allow people to make payments in small amounts so that even the economically disadvantaged can receive insurance services. Insurance claims can also be verified in the immutable and transparent blockchain. And lastly, insurance payments can be processed faster to reduce waiting times and help facilitate a better economy for everyone. 

Blockchain can help surmount the many hurdles that have always hampered efforts towards the reduction of poverty. It doesn’t discriminate on origin, race, class, or gender. It eliminates convoluted procedures that increase costs or delay services. It helps stamp out fraud by showing records to everyone involved. Let’s hope more countries will recognize the power of blockchain and employ it to better their people’s lives. 

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Crypto Guides

Blockchain & Internet Of Things – The Brilliant Combination!

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

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

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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Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

The Future of Blockchain

Even though blockchain is mostly known for being the technology behind Bitcoin – and other cryptocurrencies, it is more than that. And yes, the revolutionary nature of cryptocurrencies is what makes cryptocurrencies stand out from other digital currencies. Blockchain is known for many things – but its immutability, transparency, and decentralization are what make it such an object of frenzied interest, research, and even apprehension from traditional systems.

Today, blockchain applications have transformed how things are done across multiple industries – from manufacturing, to supply chains, to identity management, to finance and countless others. Given that it’s still a young technology but with incredible potential, how does the future look? 

Blockchain: A Background  

The concept of blockchain was first ever mentioned by Scott Stornetta and Dr.Stuart Haber in 1991. In a white paper titled ‘How to Time-Stamp a Digital Document,’ the two discussed the idea of timestamping a document and linking it to the previous document in a manner that rendered it impossible to change the content of the documents. Essentially, this was the first idea of “cryptographically linked chain of blocks,” which is how we know the blockchain today. 

Of course, Bitcoin’s burst onto the scene and gave blockchain an impetus it hadn’t seen before.

However, in 2014, the conversation started shifting from Bitcoin and to the potential of its underlying technology. People began to realize blockchain’s potential for other uses, and the exploration of this idea kicked off. Blockchain 2.0 was now the next buzzword – referring to applications beyond cryptocurrency. Today, there are hundreds of blockchain applications already active, with even more being explored. 

The reason blockchain has gained so much traction is because it has brought out business-changing ideas in plenty of industries. It’s hailed for facilitating complete transparency, a peer-to-peer model of sharing information, and the unchangeable nature of its records. 

And its influence seems to be getting only stronger – to the tune that the International Data Centre predicts global investments on the technology to hit $11.7 billion in 2022. Blockchain solutions also feature in increasingly many companies’ agenda. 

What’s Holding Back Blockchain from the Mainstream?

For now, blockchain’s implementation faces many hurdles. These limitations have slowed it down – but only just, its mainstream adoption. It’s important to note that ‘slowed’ here is relative because, given the stakes, blockchain has, in fact made such an impressive showing. With that, let’s briefly look at some reasons why its implementation is still not full-throttle a decade later:

☑️ Cost – Most blockchain platforms consume too much energy compared with their actual transaction throughput, e.g., Bitcoin’s 7 per second and Ethereum’s 15 per second

☑️ Scalability – Partly due to the issue of low transaction throughput with blockchains, blockchains have just not attained the potential to serve many users

☑️ Data privacy – The public model of public blockchains is not very enticing to enterprises who would rather keep their sensitive data private (through projects like Hyperledger have made it their goal to solve this problem by developing private blockchains)

☑️ Insufficient blockchain knowledge – Blockchain solutions are still a novel and complex concept for the majority of people. Also, most organizations lack people who have an in-depth knowledge of the technology

☑️ Entrenched systems – most organizations see no reason to “fix something that’s not broken.” They have been working with established methods for so long and providing services to customers. Transitioning into fresh mechanisms can prove challenging.

Blockchain’s Development Trajectory

Despite blockchain being so promising, it’s still very much at the teething stage. Some people see it as not a technology issue, but an issue of breaking down barriers and collaboration between companies.  

And we already see this happening. Hyperledger is one example of a successful collaboration of organizations with the sole aim of pushing blockchain into the mainstream. With the coming together of more than 200 influential organizations spanning the blockchain, finance, manufacturing, academia, and more fields, Hyperledger is determined to ensure blockchain counts. Today the group has released about 15 projects, including blockchain projects, blockchain tools, and libraries, and so on.

Furthermore, many in the blockchain space contend that the technology is still struggling to break ground. However, the progress so far can’t be denied. 2014 was the year when Blockchain 2.0 became a thing. The next year we saw the introduction of an entire blockchain dedicated to smart contracts, one of the most touted and promising applications of the technology. Already, major industry players like Microsoft, UBS Group, and the BBVA group have already integrated smart contracts in their organizations – in various forms.

The year 2016 saw the explosion of more pilot projects. 2017 brought along with it more enterprise-level experiments, while 2018 and 2019 were the years we saw the crystallization of many projects and, ultimately, their application. 2019 has been the year of bolder forays into the blockchain sphere.

Blockchain: Thinking Ahead

Based on blockchain’s showing in the last few years, many experts think brightly of its future. The blockchain and its fellow distributed ledgers will soon become the preferred mode for many business transactions.

Forbes predicts that stablecoins – the “incredible manifestations of blockchain power” will find even more popularity. The publication also asserts that as fiat currencies falter, people will likely “turn to blockchain to safeguard their savings.” What’s more, it makes a strong case for blockchain’s future, saying it deserves to be applied to “better technologies” and that “those improvements are on the way.”

Author of “Blockchain Revolution” Don Tapscott calls blockchain a “platform for truth and trust” with “staggering implications…for virtually every aspect of society.” The technology, according to him, is revolutionary with “vast potential to change society.”

The Institute for Innovation Development notes that there are more than 50 industries already deploying blockchain, and that “this corporate activity and experimentation will increase exponentially.” It also foresees blockchain changing “how transparency and authenticity are derived” with all types of things – from food, to property ownership, to verifying memorabilia, to personal identification.  

Spencer Bogart of Blockchain Capital Blog sees blockchain’s development shifting from the “launching of insufficiently differentiated new chains to improving and building ‘up the stack’ of winning protocols.”  

The Future of Blockchain 

Blockchain is still experiencing “growing pains,” and thus, its potential is yet to be fully realized. However, given that it has already successfully penetrated so many industries, it’s likely a matter of time before it penetrates nearly every industry.    

Many people, from both within and without the blockchain community, acknowledge blockchain’s powerful potential to instill transparency in all aspects of the business. Dataversity says that the technology will “emerge as a savior for transactional integrity.”

Blockchain has also received support from higher-ups in the finance regulation sector. Former chairman for the US Commodity Futures and Trading Commission, writing for Coindesk, asserts that “emerging digital technologies” have “far-ranging implications for capital formation.”

The Future of Blockchain Companies foresees a blockchain era when businesses will easily exchange assets in a peer-to-peer environment without government interference or regulatory fear. If blockchain maintains its current level of trust, then the current lack of transparency and “lack of governance over personal data” will be a thing of the past. 

Conclusion

Blockchain is here to stay, and soon, we will be using it in our daily lives without even realizing it. And for the better – because, as stated many times in the article, this technology has the potential to revolutionize how we do things. And while blockchain’s development and adoption has been slow, we know its mainstream adoption is a matter of “when,” not “if.”

Categories
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.

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

How can Blockchain be applied in various industries?

Ever since blockchain got its first prominent use with Bitcoin in 2009, the technology has no signs of slowing down. If anything, it’s poised to change so many facets of our lives. It will protect our business dealings, simplify property registration, save us from hiring intermediaries, protect our identities, and more.

We already see some of the exciting applications of blockchain. The most obvious one is cryptocurrencies – the borderless, censorship-resistant digital currency. Another application is borderless payments, which are already improving lives via timely money remittances.

So, what blockchain applications are on the horizon? We explain the above mentioned in more detail, as well as list more promising applications of this amazing technology. 

Banks

The banking industry could benefit from blockchain in so many ways. Unlike banks that cease operations at night and on weekends, blockchain never sleeps. By integrating blockchain into banking operations, banks can provide way quicker and more convenient services to customers. For example, with the current banking model, if you deposit a check on Friday at 6.pm, you will likely have to wait until Monday to cash it. If blockchain was in play, though, you wouldn’t take more than 10 minutes before that money hits your account.

Banks could also use blockchain to exchange money between institutions faster and more securely. For example, in stock trading, the clearing and settlement process takes up to three days or even longer for international trading. And the more days the money is in transit, the more risks and costs it is exposed to. If banks employed blockchain solutions, it could save them significant costs as well as save customers a lot of banking and insurance fees.

Cryptocurrencies

Fiat currencies are regulated by a central authority, such as a bank or government. Under this system, a user’s money is technically subject to the whims of either the bank or the government. If the bank collapsed, their money is at risk. If they live in a dictatorial jurisdiction, their assets could be frozen at any time if they were so far as deemed to be a threat to such a system. And if a government is unstable, so is citizens’ currency.

On the other hand, blockchain, the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies, is global, decentralized, and under no one’s authority of control. If someone holds cryptocurrency – those funds cannot be seized or frozen by an authoritarian state. Neither will it devalue in the face of political or government instability. Countries with unstable currencies can also use cryptocurrency as a more stable currency.

Healthcare

The healthcare industry can leverage blockchain to maintain and store patients’ medical records securely. For instance, when a medical report is generated, it can be securely recorded in the blockchain – where patients will have confidence that it will not be altered. The health records could also be encrypted and stored on the blockchain, with only specific individuals having the key to the information – thus ensuring privacy.

Blockchain could also solve the problem of patient identifiers, for which there is none that is universally recognized so far. A unique patient identifier would solve the problem of mismatched patient electronic health records, which sometimes leads to errors in patient care and puts patients at risk. 

Blockchain application in healthcare could also facilitate the seamless exchange of information with reduced costs. Also, the nearly instantaneous processing of requests would mean a more secure and efficient exchange of health records between healthcare providers. 

Smart Contracts

Blockchains can enable the coding of smart contracts. Smart contracts are contracts that self-execute when the specified conditions are met. Smart contracts are just like traditional contracts in that they define the agreements, obligations, rules, and penalties applicable to the parties involved. However, whereas traditional contracts will rely on human execution, smart contracts automatically enforce those obligations.

With smart contracts, the need for intermediaries, chaperones, lawyers, or generally third parties is eliminated. This saves time and the administration fees that would have been utilized for that end. There’s also no room for confusion as a contract’s terms are clear for all parties to see. Also, any party can refer to the contract at any time.

Cross Border Payments

The traditional remittance system is not up to par with today’s fast-paced world. It takes days for recipients on the other side of the world to receive money. There are also several intermediaries involved who all get paid a fraction of the total amount, creating an expensive and frustrating experience. Also, it’s prone to human error and open to illegal activities such as money laundering.

The blockchain could solve these problems substantially. It could provide a cheaper, faster, and more secure payment system. It could also instill transparency and hence help stamp out the illegal flow of money.

Governance

Blockchain technology could be used to ensure full transparency in voting, elections, or any other kind of poll taking.

Utilizing blockchain solutions for voting processes carries the potential to eliminate fraud as votes are recorded on a public blockchain, making them impossible to alter in any way. Also, votes are publicly available for everyone and election candidates to see – eliminating possible litigation scenarios and allowing countries to move forward after the election season.

Also, the automated process means fewer elections personnel will be needed, thus saving resources. It would also mean people can conveniently vote from anywhere, thus bolstering election turnout. 

Supply Chain Auditing

Today’s customer wants to know if companies do indeed mean what they say when they make ethical claims about products. Blockchain could easily provide us with proof about the backstories that come attached to the things we buy – from food to medicine to clothing to minerals and more.

With an immutable, public, and time-stamped record-keeping, we could begin to see more accountability and transparency in supply chains. For example, it would be easy to see the supply path of ‘ethical’ diamonds and confirm if they are, after all, ethical.

This also applies to food supply chains. Nowhere is the supply chain more contentious than in food. Blockchain would show us the origin of food from farm to table so that customers can confirm, for instance, if eggs are organic as claimed by the supplier. This would help bolster customer confidence and help stamp out food fraud.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Internet of things is a network of physical devices embedded with actuators, sensors, internet connectivity, etc. All these features are supposed to enable such objects to collect, exchange, and act on data, which then leads to improved system efficiency.

Blockchain-based IoT devices are already around us. For example, we have the Ethereum BlockCharge, which is used to charge electric vehicles as well as CryptoSeal, a tamper-proof seal for ensuring drug safety.

Blockchain will play a major role in IoT. It will help provide security and protect against hackers. Also, its protection against data tampering will prevent rogue actors or devices from disrupting a home, a factory, or a transportation system.

Identity Management

Today, there’s a growing need for better identity management. The ability to verify your identity is a prerequisite to accessing online financial services. But how can we be sure that personal data is safe from online security risks? Current remedies for this problem are faulty at best. Blockchain technology can provide a method to prove who you are, while also granting us the possibility to digitize personal documents.

Developing universally agreeable digital identity standards is a challenging process. Apart from the obvious technical challenges, such a solution requires cooperation between governments and the private sector. Factor in, too, the need to navigate the legal labyrinths of different countries. The decentralization, security, and borderlessness of blockchain would provide solutions to these problems and pave the way for the creation of a digital identity standard.

Property Registration

Registering property has got to be one process that many would agree is burdensome and time-consuming. Between having to go to the local county’s office and having the property manually entered into the central database, it can prove an arduous task. And in the case of a property dispute, claims of ownership must be checked against the database.

This process is not just susceptible to fraud; it’s also costly and prone to human error. Even the tiniest mistake could make tracking property ownership inefficient. Blockchain-based property registration could eliminate the need to scan documents and having to physically track down physical files. Storing ownership information on the blockchain could instill more confidence in owners that their property deed is accurate and unalterable.

These are just some of the current and promising applications of blockchain. Blockchain has tremendous potential to change how we do a lot of things – whether it’s business, personal data handling, how we send money, and so on. One thing that’s clear, though, is that with blockchain, everyone is held to the highest degree of transparency and accountability. This is one of the pillars of this technology – and one that could help us construct fairer practices and hence, societies.

Categories
Blockchain and DLT

Avoid the Hype Surrounding Blockchain and Consider Alternatives

For some people, the words blockchain and bitcoin (BTC) are so thoroughly intertwined that the mention of one brings to mind the other. This association is almost natural, considering that it’s the BTC that gave prominence to the term. Yet the fact is that blockchain technology had been researched many years before the advent of bitcoin in 2009. 

The enthusiasm with which the blockchain technology has been received by the business world is easy to appreciate. First, bitcoin has enjoyed great success over the years and, though other cryptocurrencies could only be playing catch up, they too have something to show for their efforts, and this success is attributed to the adoption of the blockchain technology. Secondly, it has been established that the blockchain technology can be adopted in other financial institutions and, in fact, can be greatly useful in many diverse industries.

Proponents of the blockchain technology give the impression that it is infallible and totally secure and that it would provide safeguards against many problems that bedevil many industries today. Its famed data storage potential could, therefore, be exploited by players in many industries, including property rights records, healthcare services, legal services, and supply chain services, among many others.

Blockchain’s Main Selling Points

There are many things that make blockchain attractive to the business community, and one of the things that make business owners enthuse over it is the fact that it allows for the creation of immutable records which can be relied on in the event of a contractual dispute. Such a system, therefore, makes it possible for parties in a dispute to solve their disputes in a transparent and amicable manner without having to involve any third parties. Other people find the technology attractive because data stored there is decentralized, which some people consider a huge positive because such data cannot be manipulated, and this is a further aid to transparency. 

Counter Arguments

While blockchain proponents find the technology attractive for the above reasons, those opposed to it find fertile grounds to counter it for the very same reasons. First, where decentralization is supposed to be positive, most organizations will be averse to it because it makes the company’s private records available to the prying eyes of people from whom it should be kept away. In this category could be people you keep your company’s secrets away from, such as your competitors. 

Secondly, creating and maintaining the immutable records comes at an astronomical cost. Blockchains do not only consume incredible amounts of energy but do so performing simple but heavily duplicated tasks. Contrary to what people have been made to believe, a blockchain is not a distributed system in the true sense of the word. The impression that is created when we hear of a distributed computing system is that all the computers in the system could be performing different operations. The converse, however, is true – whether you have a thousand or even ten million computers in the system, they all perform the same identical task. What then, you might wonder, do you stand to gain by using such a huge capital outlay on machines that are only duplicating each other’s efforts? This is the kind of expense that many businesses cannot afford, and before joining the blockchain bandwagon, it’d be prudent to explore possible alternatives.

Possible and Easy Alternatives to Blockchain

Perhaps the first thing that every prudent business owner needs to think about before employing blockchain technology is its return on investment (ROI). The prohibitive costs we have alluded to above and the redundancy of the computers used means that getting an ROI could prove difficult. Yet there’s no reason why business owners should be in a hurry to invest in technology when there are tried and tested affordable alternatives available. Here are a few:

☑️Using a Centralized Database

Despite the hype surrounding decentralization, companies have nothing to lose (and actually have a lot to gain) by maintaining centralized databases. Such databases do not only maintain privacy but are easier to maintain and are affordable as they do not need to hold duplicate info, as is the case with a blockchain.

☑️Using a Backup Service

Contrary to what blockchain proponents might argue, there’s very little persuasion to back data up on multiple devices at the aforesaid prohibitive expenses. A company that desires to back its data up can do so by simply contracting one of the many contractors providing such services at very reasonable prices. Backup services have been around for some time, and we know they can be relied upon not only to store your data affordably but also safely. By encrypting your data before handing it over to the service providers, you are guaranteed that your company secrets are safe. And saying that such services are affordable is a huge understatement – the cost of storage with a backup service is completely insignificant when compared to the costs on a blockchain.

☑️Using a Distributed Ledger

An easy way to enjoy the benefits that people crave for when investing in blockchain technology is by investing in distributed ledgers. Unlike blockchains, distributed ledgers do not have scalability issues, yet they, too, are decentralized. On top of being transparent, such ledgers offer great security against the threats of cyber attacks as they could be distributed across various sites and locations. Where a blockchain consists of a chain of blocks, distributed ledgers never need to use such a chain, and this is what makes them capable of processing vast amounts of data in very little time and would, therefore, be a more meaningful substitute for blockchains.

Conclusion

Finally, are we arguing that companies should completely keep away from blockchain technology? Of course not! On the contrary, there are good enough reasons why every business owner should keep an eye out on the goings-on in the blockchain industry. By educating themselves on the latest trends and comparing their company needs with what the new technology has to offer, business owners will be in a great position to find out how their businesses could benefit from the technology. Ignoring such developments will ultimately mean that a company might fail to take advantage of them at the opportune time. What every company owner, however, needs to be aware of is that there’s too much hype surrounding the blockchain word, and most of it is driven by ignorance. Given that there are very serious financial implications behind the implementation of this technology, it’d be a grave mistake to invest in it simply to be seen “to be with it.” As with many other forms of technology, there are affordable, appropriate, and more practical options, and that’s what you might consider using.

Categories
Blockchain and DLT

What Problems Do Cryptocurrencies and blockchain Solve?

Most people have heard the term cryptocurrency. But while some are confused by it, most have no inkling about what it means, or what it’s all about.

Cryptocurrency is an internet-based digital currency that utilizes cryptography to secure and facilitate transactions. Cryptocurrencies, sometimes simply called cryptos, leverage a technology known as blockchain – which lends them features like decentralization, immutability, impermeable security, and transparency.

Decentralization means that all participants in the network have equal power to approve transactions without the need for a central authority. Their high degree of security is enabled by the fact that transactions are broadcast across thousands of nodes, which must confirm any change to the system. This makes it impossible for malicious parties to hack the system.

More and more cryptos are entering the space, each with improvement in certain aspects of their predecessor. But is there actual value beyond cryptocurrencies being a means of exchange? Is the technology that powers cryptos applicable outside the world of finance? In this article, we explore the different challenges in our world that cryptocurrency is solving or has the potential to solve – from borderless money transfers to real estate, to centralization, to data privacy, and more.

Intermediation Fees

Cryptocurrencies solve the problem of intermediation charges. In the current money transfer business, there are so many intermediaries involved in the process – all of which contribute to excessive amounts of fees for customers. Also, the current options for sending money are not only expensive but also take days. 

Cryptocurrency has the potential to solve these problems and is already being used in several applications to this end. Take BitPesa, a service currently operating in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This service uses a blockchain-based system to send money within a day, as opposed to the traditional methods which take days and at a much cheaper rate (1% to 3% cost of transactions).

Another case is the Monetha payment system – which is based on the Ethereum cryptocurrency protocol. The system can carry out transactions five times cheaper and 10,000 faster than conventional systems. 

 Centralization

 One of the most exciting aspects of the technology underlying cryptocurrency is that it’s entirely decentralized – meaning it is not dependent on any authority for control. This essentially removes the need for a central authority while preventing one entity from having too much power over the system. 

Centralized systems have certain inherent weaknesses that make them ineffective in the long run. Firstly, as it has a single point of data control, a centralized system is more susceptible to malicious attacks. Centralized systems are also prone to price manipulation – whose results benefit only those at the top.

Centralization also raises the question of privacy. As digitization becomes the norm in the average person’s life, so is the concern for the safety of their data. The sheer volumes of people’s private data associated with centralized systems, especially with their vulnerability to bad actors, is not a favorable idea for the average person. 

This is where cryptocurrency comes to the rescue. A decentralized structure levels the field for all participants in the network such that no one entity has too much power to manipulate the system. A decentralized, peer to peer network is also secure. This is enabled by the fact that for hackers to successfully gain access to the system, they would have to hack more than half the nodes in the network, which is nearly impossible. 

Privacy

Traditional payment models like banks leave a trace of financial transactions. With cryptocurrency, it’s different. Cryptocurrencies are built with privacy and security that allow you to conceal your identity and transactions. Some like Dash, Monero, Zcash, Verge, Bytecoin, etc. have even been created to provide complete anonymity. 

There are several methods that cryptocurrencies use to conceal user information. Some use high-level encryption tools like The Invisible Internet Project and Tor, while others employ cryptography methods that provide proof of knowledge – without revealing that knowledge.

Double Spending 

Cryptocurrencies also solve the issue of double-spending. Double spending, as the term suggests, is spending the same money more than once – a potential flaw with digital currencies. With physical cash, it’s impossible to spend the same money twice. For example, you go to the ice cream stand and ask for an ice cream cone worth 1 dollar. You pay in cash and hand over the dollar to the cashier. As soon as you hand over the dollar, you can’t spend it again.  

On the other hand, a transaction with digital currency involves broadcasting to all the ‘nodes’ in the network. These nodes have to receive and confirm the transaction, and this takes time. This is where the concern of duplication arises. How can we be sure someone will not copy the transaction and rebroadcast it before it has been received and confirmed?

It’s hard to verify the real owner of a digital token – considering it can be cloned, duplicated, copied, or shared infinitely. Simply put, it’s difficult to confirm if a token has only been spent once.

Cryptocurrency solves this by ensuring users cannot double-spend coins. Blockchain – the technology underlying the currency, has a powerful mechanism that enables all nodes in the network to be aware of every transaction. And since the nodes show the history of the order in which they received a transaction, any attempts to double-spend are pointless.

Unbanked Populations 

Currently, 1.7 billion worldwide are unbanked – without access to financial services like insurance, investment, loans, money transfers, or deposit accounts. The lack of access to financial services makes it impossible for these people to escape the vortex of poverty. Meanwhile, traditional financial institutions like banks do not have the requisite structure to cater to this market segment without incurring losses. 

Blockchain-based solutions offer ways to provide financial services and still make a profit. They eliminate the need for expensive brick and mortar banking infrastructures. 

For example, blockchain technology can decrease the costs of providing microfinancing services. They also remove the need for the manual, multiple verifications that are associated with transferring money to emerging markets. This is made possible by smart contracts that radically cut costs and speed up local and international transfers. 

An example of crypto-based solutions changing lives by providing banking services happens in Venezuela. The collapse of the country’s Venezuela Bolivar currency has resulted in people using cryptocurrencies as an economic lifeline, making them more resilient in an unstable economy. 

Food Fraud

Cryptocurrency based technology also helps to prevent food fraud. One high profile case of food fraud was the horsemeat scandal in parts of Europe when meat advertised as beef in supermarkets was discovered to be horsemeat. 

Food fraud can occur in several forms – including adulteration, which is substituting an ingredient with a cheaper one, and misrepresentation – which includes fashioning a product as organic when it isn’t. These fraudulent practices not only pose health risks to consumers but also cost the food industry billions of dollars each year.  

While there are systems in place to curb food fraud, they aren’t completely tamper-proof, and it’s still very possible to play the system. Blockchain technology can be used to design systems that can track and authenticate every step of the food supply chain. This means that every party that handles food: from the farmer to the manufacturer to the store to the kitchen to your plate, becomes a block in the blockchain. The thing with blockchain is that it’s completely transparent, and its stringent verification process makes it impossible to misrepresent or forge a transaction. 

An example of cryptocurrency in action for food safety is Vietnam-based TE-FOOD, which has created a system in which every step of food production can be traced. Using the blockchain protocol, TE-FOOD provides a transparent and immutable (unchangeable) environment to track thousands of pigs, chickens, and eggs, increasing trust in the food ecosystem. 

Contract Conflicts

Traditional contracts are often the source of many business and legal conflicts arising from miscommunication, poor drafting, etc. It’s also a process that involves a coterie of lawyers, time-consuming negotiations, and a multitude of drafting phases. 

Enter smart contracts, the crypto-based technology that digitally facilitates, verifies, and enforces contract negotiations and performance. This type of contract enables trusted business agreements to happen without the need for third parties, a central authority, or lawyers.

Smart contracts work by self-execution of the negotiations between the parties. The contract is written in lines of code, after which both the code and the agreement are distributed across a blockchain network. This code controls the execution of the contract, and agreements are trackable and irreversible.

The decentralization and transparency of blockchain eliminate the need for an intermediary – saving time, money, and conflict. Besides, the technology is faster, cheaper, and secure, allowing for more reliable contracting. Where traditional contracts need long-winded verification procedures, smart contracts proceed with the utmost speed and efficiency. They set the stage for specific outcomes, removing any confusion or the potential of protracted litigation battles.

Election Fraud

In an era when the integrity of elections is increasingly under the microscope, blockchain can provide solutions for transparent and fair elections. Candidates who lose elections may launch legal battles that can delay the result and hold a country hostage. 

The blockchain digital ledger intrinsically creates an audit trail that not only simplifies the verification process but also minimizes the cost for expensive election apparatus. Furthermore, the process is wholly transparent so that anyone and everyone can verify the integrity of the results.

Crypto technology further provides an irrefutable record of the votes cast – eliminating the possibility for election rigging. Moreover, voters can cast their votes from the comfort of their mobile phones, enabling them to have a say in the process no matter their location.

Internet of Things 

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a concept of creating a network of devices with the internet and each other, including vehicles, home appliances, communication devices, wearable devices, and pretty much everything you can think of. The idea is to make the things we interact with daily to be more valuable to us. For example, your coffee maker monitoring when you wake up and then making coffee, or your shower heating 20 minutes before you reach home. 

The Internet of Things promises increased productivity and enhanced asset utilization to improve our modern lifestyles. But a significant impediment to the adoption of IoT has been the closed ecosystem (a system in which one or two people control the system), which some manufacturers stipulate as a requirement. This locks out other vendors from availing products to consumers, while also being denied a choice to compare and use hardware from different manufacturers. 

Also, IoT raises a lot of security and data privacy concerns, seeing as these devices would be communicating with external networks, rendering them vulnerable to hackers. Cases of connected refrigerators or automobiles being hacked are well documented. Also, IoT devices contain enormous amounts of data, which can lead to massive security breaches.

Blockchain technology can help solve these problems by:  

  1. Decentralizing the IoT to enable devices to connect directly; without manufacturers locking consumers into any particular ecosystem. 
  2. Decentralizing the IoT to prevent attacks – as a hacker would have to target all nodes on the network to obtain data – which is highly improbable   

Lack of an Identity 

Currently, 1 billion people worldwide do not have an identity. A large fraction of this number is refugees. When refugees are forced to flee their homes, many leave behind essential documents such as ID cards, birth certificates, and passports. Being able to prove one’s identity is critical because, without it, it’s difficult to access services that help begin a new life, local integration, or self-sufficiency – like a bank account, healthcare, a SIM card, etc. 

Cryptocurrency technology can come in useful in these contexts. The technology can host and transact infinite amounts of data on its publicly available ledger. Furthermore, identities on the network cannot be falsified, tampered with, and are time stamped.

Governments and charity organizations can use blockchain-based technology to issue digital identification to refugees, which would enable them to prove their identity and that of their loved ones and access financial services, healthcare, and education.

One example of blockchain improving refugee’s life is that of Bitnation, a startup that utilizes the technology to help refugees obtain digitally-enabled ID documents. By verifying a person’s social media presence and linking it to their social security number, passport, and other documents, he/she can prove their identity to the host government.

Arbitrary Asset Freezing

Cryptocurrencies can help citizens living in autocratic jurisdictions retain financial independence in contexts where governments unfairly freeze their bank accounts and assets. When people living in these countries run afoul of powerful individuals, their assets can be frozen or their attempt at transactions in local currency barred. 

Unlike fiat currencies (government-issued currencies), cryptocurrencies are immune from tyrannical whims. Crypto funds and transactions are stored in numerous nodes around the world, rendering government control infeasible. 

Real-Estate 

The cryptocurrency protocol can be used to solve many problems in the real estate industry, among which are fraud, high fees, price barriers, etc. 

Firstly, a cryptocurrency protocol can remove the need for paper-based record trails that are susceptible to manipulation and falsification. Blockchain transactions are tamper-proof and transparent, ensuring all parties transact fairly.   

Secondly, blockchain transactions are time-stamped – allowing for a party to prove without a doubt that a particular transaction took place at a specific date and time. The decentralized and transparent nature of blockchain also means everyone involved can know – and verify ownership details. 

Furthermore, blockchain-enabled smart contracts can help cut costs by eliminating the need for middlemen like banks, lawyers, guarantors, etc.

Blockchain can also enable tokenization (turning things into digital, tradable assets) such that even low-income buyers can own part of the property – while also allowing the seller to at least get a fraction of the total payment on the spot. 

Accountability in Nonprofits

Public trust in charities has dwindled in recent years due to cases of embezzlement and mismanagement coming to light. Blockchain technology can help these organizations achieve financial transparency.

Crypto coins such as AidCoin are designed for this very purpose: to allow transparent donations to legitimate charities. This way, donors can monitor where their money is going, and charities are forced to channel donations to the right purposes. 

An exciting use of this application is by the World Food Programme (WFP) to securely provide thousands of people with cash assistance. In Jordan, refugees can enter a store and simply look at an iris scanner, which then verifies their identity and then expends a food voucher. This system is based on Ethereum, a cryptocurrency.

Conclusion

These uses are just some of the numerous applications of cryptocurrency technology in solving problems in our everyday life. Across the food industry, finance, technology, and other sectors, exciting and innovative uses of cryptocurrency are being discovered every day. Also, more cryptos with real-world applications will keep budding if the current landscape is anything to go by.