How Blockchain Technology Can rewire the World?

Believe it or not, we are living in revolutionary times where Blockchain technology is rewiring the world’s economy through its value exchange revolution.

The stage at which we are today can be compared to the 1990’s when the internet revolution was gradually changing the way humans communicated with each other.

In today’s times, Blockchain is laying the foundation for an economy where humans will be able to transact seamlessly with little to no costs involved.That’s not all; the distributed ledger technologies have the potential to solve some of the most significant problems faced by humanity along with transforming industries. In this article, we will discuss some of the major problems Blockchain technology can solve.

To begin with, let’s understand what Blockchain is. Blockchain can be defined as a distributed database where every participant has access to the data contained. The participants or the network nodes determine what information goes into the chain. Also, the data stored within a Blockchain is immutable, in other words, it cannot be altered. Since a large amount of computing power is required to take down a Blockchain, hence hacking attempts are nearly impossible.

For the layman, it can be difficult to envision that this sophisticated technology can be deployed in real life for the better good of humanity, yet that is, in fact, the case.

Let’s delve into some of the solutions that can be achieved using Blockchain technology.

1. Easing Monetary Transactions

Whether you are sending money internationally or domestically, every transaction necessitates the need of an intermediary.

This third party can present itself in the form of a PayPal account or your neighbourhood bank. The bad thing about third parties is that they charge commission in the way of a hefty fees. Not only that, but transactions also take a lot of time to process. That’s not all; there also arises the issue of placing your trust in the third party to handle your data securely. And most importantly, not all people come under the umbrella of financial services again.

The blockchain is a saviour here as the tech facilitates peer-to-peer transactions through cryptocurrency. Plus, Blockchain database works seamlessly. Hence, the need for intermediaries is eliminated entirely.

2. Streamlining Supply Chain

How many times have you wondered if an item you purchased is authentic? Be it an expensive bottle of wine or a precious diamond ring, the authenticity of goods cannot be determined unless the end consumer has the complete information about a good’s origin and its movement through the supply chain. This is where Blockchain tech comes into play. The distributed ledger tech can provide applications that allow users and producers to trace the history of a good or item to its source. Hence, deployment of Blockchain will eliminate the case of any possible tampering with goods.

3. Enhancing Transparency in Voting

Elections always seem to have a way of becoming controversial, one way or the other. One of the most significant aspects that raise suspicion is the voting process. Take the case of Donald Trump Vs. Hillary Clinton elections during which foreign intelligence agencies purportedly influenced the presidential elections.

Blockchain technology deployment in the voting process could eliminate any such fraud or suspicion because there would be no questions as to the authenticity of the results since all entries in a distributed and decentralised ledger are tamper-proof as well as irreversible.

4. Making Government Operations Fair

Government organisations are tasked with specific responsibilities that need to be fulfilled for the well-being of the citizens as well as the development of the nations.

Such entities have huge budgets, but often the money doesn’t go where it is supposed to. Corruption mars such operations and hurts the ordinary citizen. Monitoring everything has been a difficult task as tampering with documents here, and there can prohibit the government from getting to the root of the corruption. Blockchain can play a significant role here as it will ensure that all transactions are authenticated, and no odd deals take place. The distributed ledger tech will provide increased transparency, which will as a consequence increase the integrity of government operations.

5. Intellectual Property Rights

Illegal sharing of content such as movies, books, music as well as the artwork is a big issue in the times of today. Tons of artists lose out on revenues due to content leaked over the internet. Blockchain projects like Po.et, CREA, etc. are already addressing these issues. These projects are based on the idea that individuals producing the content will be able to prove the authenticity of the material provided by them, and all intellectual rights will be held by them regardless of where the content ends up.

6. Cloud storage

The cloud storage market is currently monopolised by major players such as Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. Even though one can say that these companies are trustworthy, however looking at past examples it is never a good idea to forsake the rights of all your data in the hands of a single organisation.

The concept of Blockchain is to move away from this centralisation. Blockchain projects such as Storj are leveraging decentralisation to enhance the security of data stored on the cloud with the help of cryptography. With Blockchain, you will be in full control of your data.

7. Real Estate

Transaction in real estate is often marred by a variety of issues such as errors in public records, fraud, and lack of transparency. Blockchain technology can help here by not only enhancing the transaction speeds but by also making record keeping more reliable and efficient. It is achieved by eliminating paper-based documentation with digital files that are stored on the distributed ledger.

8. Crowdfunding

The Ethereum Blockchain, in particular, has made crowdfunding an accessible and more accessible option for startups to raise money on a global scale. The integration of Smart Contracts allows projects to raise enough funds to finance the development of their business idea into a viable product. Today, many projects have been able to raise millions of dollars in a few hours.

The blockchain is continually developing. Hence the tech is bound to alter the way our lives work for the better.

How Blockchain Technology Can rewire the World? was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.