The technology that powers cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and online platforms like Ethereum is known as the blockchain. It offers a method for transparent, secure, auditable, and outage-resistant data logging and transfer. The organizations that employ blockchain development solutions, including custom blockchain app development UAE, have the potential to become transparent, democratic, decentralized, efficient, and secure. These are a few of the sectors it has already impacted.
1. Payments and Banking
According to some, the blockchain will change banking the way the internet changed the media. Millions of people worldwide, especially those in third-world nations without access to traditional banking, can utilize it to gain access to financial services. Anyone can transmit money across borders almost immediately and with relatively minimal fees thanks to bitcoin. One firm developing a remittance service using bitcoin is Abra.
Many banks, like Barclays, are attempting to implement blockchain technology to speed up, improve, and safeguard their business operations. Banks are also making an increase in their investments in blockchain projects and businesses. By the end of 2017, 15% of banks, according to IBM, will be utilizing the blockchain.
2. Cybersecurity
Although the data is authenticated and encrypted using cutting-edge cryptography, the blockchain ledger is open to everyone. This makes the data less vulnerable to hacking and unauthorized alteration.
Nevertheless, the blockchain-based applications are still in their infancy, and there have been a number of hacks recently. Future applications will need to mature to handle this.
3. Supply Chain Management
With the help of blockchain technology, transactions may be tracked safely and transparently, recorded in an everlasting decentralized record, and monitored. This can significantly reduce lag time and human error. Additionally, it may be used to track expenses, labor, waste, and even pollution at every stage of the supply chain. Understanding and managing the true environmental impact of products is seriously impacted by this. The distributed ledger can be used to trace things back to their source in order to confirm their legitimacy or fair trade status. Provenance, Fluent, SKUChain, and Blockverify are a few blockchain businesses operating in this industry.
4. The Internet of Things and Networking
Blockchain technology is being utilized by Samsung and IBM for a novel idea called ADEPT, which will build a decentralized network of IoT devices. It would do away with the requirement for a central site to handle communications between them by acting as a public ledger for a large number of devices. Direct communication between the devices would be possible in order to manage issues, update software, and track energy use.
5. Insurance
The foundation of the world insurance market is trust administration. The blockchain is a novel approach to maintaining trust and can be used to validate a variety of data in insurance contracts, including the identity of the insured. Smart contracts on the blockchain can be integrated with real-world data via so-called oracles. Any sort of insurance that depends on actual data from the real world, like crop insurance, can benefit greatly from this technology. One blockchain initiative called Aeternity is creating technologies that are helpful to the insurance sector.
6. Ridesharing and Private Transportation
Peer-to-peer ridesharing apps can be made decentralized using the blockchain, enabling customers and car owners to negotiate terms and conditions in a safe manner without the involvement of third parties. Arcade City and La’Zooz are two startups that are active in this field.
Some of the businesses creating blockchain-based e-wallets are UBS, ZF, and Innogy.
7. Cloud Storage
A centralized server’s information is inherently open to hackers, data loss, and human mistake. Blockchain technology enables cloud storage to be more resistant to attacks and secure. One cloud storage network that makes use of the technology is Storj.
8. Charity
Inefficiency and corruption, which prevent money from reaching those who should have it, are frequent concerns in the charity sector. By using blockchain technology to track donations, you can be guaranteed that your money will reach the appropriate people. Blockchain’s secure and transparent distributed ledger is used by bitcoin-based charities like the BitGive Foundation to allow contributors to know that the money has reached the correct recipient.
9. Voting
Voting is likely one of the most significant aspects of society that the blockchain will change. A number of parties have previously been charged with manipulating elections, including the US election of 2016. In order to ensure that only valid votes are counted and that none of the votes have been altered or deleted, blockchain technology can be utilized for voter registration, identity verification, and electronic vote counting. Making recorded votes unchangeable and accessible to the general public would go a long way toward making elections more democratic and fair. Democracy Two firms, Earth and Follow My Vote, want to undermine democracy by building online voting platforms for governments based on the blockchain.
10. Government
Governmental systems are frequently cumbersome, confusing, and corruptible. By using blockchain-based solutions, government operations can become much more secure, efficient, and transparent while drastically reducing bureaucracy. For instance, Dubai wants to have all of its official documents on the blockchain by the year 2020.
11. Public Assistance
The public benefits system is another area that is hampered by bureaucracy and delay. Blockchain technology can make it much easier and safer to evaluate, confirm, and administer welfare or unemployment payments. A UK-based business called GovCoin is assisting the government in dispersing public benefits via blockchain technology. A basic income can also be implemented using the blockchain. A project called Circles is aiming to create a blockchain-based system for implementing a universal basic income.
12. Medical Care
Healthcare is another sector with a lot of legacy systems that is vulnerable to change. Hospitals frequently fall subject to hacking due to antiquated technology, and one of their issues is the lack of a secure platform to store and share data. Hospitals may be able to securely store and distribute patient records and other types of data using blockchain technology. This can enhance data security and possibly aid in diagnosis speed and accuracy. Two businesses, Gem and Tierion, are attempting to upend the existing healthcare data market.
13. Energy Management
For a very long period, the energy management business has been very centralized. Energy producers and consumers are unable to transact business directly with one another and must instead use the public grid or a reputable commercial intermediary. Using Ethereum, TransactiveGrid is a firm that enables users to transact in peer-to-peer energy sales and purchases.
14. Online Music
A number of businesses are developing methods for musicians to get money directly from their fans without ceding sizable portions of sales to platforms or record labels. Smart contracts can be used to better catalog music with their respective creators and automatically resolve license concerns. Two firms in the music sector, Mycelia and Ujo Music, are developing blockchain-based solutions.
15. Property Business
Bureaucracy, a lack of transparency, fraud, and errors in public records are a few of the problems that arise while purchasing and selling real estate. Blockchain technology helps transactions move more quickly by eliminating the need for paper-based record keeping. Additionally, it can aid in tracking, confirming ownership, assuring document accuracy, and transferring property deeds. A blockchain-secured platform called Ubiquity serves as a replacement for antiquated paper-based real estate record-keeping systems.
16. Crowdfunding
In recent years, crowdfunding has grown in popularity as a means of obtaining money for new ventures and initiatives. Platforms for crowdsourcing exist to build confidence between project creators and backers, but they also have substantial costs. Instead of using a middleman, blockchain-based crowdfunding establishes trust via smart contracts and public rating systems. By issuing their own tokens that have value and can be later exchanged for goods, services, or cash, new enterprises can raise money. Through these token sales, some blockchain businesses have now raised millions of dollars. Although blockchain-based crowdfunding is still in its infancy and its regulatory future is uncertain, it is a promising field.
