Since its inception, use of Blockchain technology has been associated mainly with cryptocurrencies, so it has often seen its reputation “stained” by the lack of transparency of some of these virtual currencies. Nothing is further from reality: let’s see what Blockchain technology is for beyond Bitcoin and how it can contribute to improving digital products and services.
What is Blockchain or “chain of blocks”
The main advantage of Blockchain is its ability to enable a secure and reliable transaction certification system without the need of third parties or intermediaries, decentralizing management. The “chain of blocks” that is generated is a shared account book in which the logs are linked and also encrypted, protecting the security of the transactions. The chain is updated each time in a decentralized manner and each new block is transmitted to all the nodes in the network, which ensures the veracity of the information.
What is the use of Blockchain technology
The huge cost savings that come with Blockchain, makes the applications of this technology to everyday life are endless and also desirable and convenient. Let’s see below the main uses:
Financial services: beyond cryptocurrencies, the advantages of Blockchain lie in the traceability of financial operations or in the fight against fraud.
Health system: improving the management of electronic clinical records, guaranteeing their integrity and privacy, enabling access only by authorized personnel.
Manufacturing: can be used to guarantee the traceability of any good, from its manufacture to its sale or resale or the prevention of fraud and counterfeiting.
Logistics: streamlining all the procedures involved in the transport of goods and merchandise, both its traceability and security, passing through customs, etc.
Government: forming the basis of all public records (health, transport, justice, legislation, voting, taxes, pensions, etc.) as is the case in Estonia, a country at the forefront of the world in this field.
Donations: the use of Blockchain technology to provide greater transparency in donations to non-profit entities and in their destination to specific projects.
Retail: enabling advanced customer loyalty systems, in addition to decentralized markets for the exchange without intermediaries of goods and services.
Digital identity: you can build an identification system in which it would only be necessary to provide documentation once, to be able to be identified by public administrations and private companies, when managing procedures or contracting services.
Contracts: in the management of so-called “Smart contracts” between client and supplier, whose payment would be activated automatically when both parties agree that certain conditions have been met.
Cultural products: to fight against piracy, enabling systems for monitoring intellectual property rights and their related payments, in sectors such as music or photography.
Insurance: enabling what is known as “parametric insurance”, that is those in which the occurrence of a certain circumstance automatically gives rise to payment or compensation.
The future use of Blockchain technology: disappear
If today the blockchain is in everyone’s mouth, its future could be radically opposed. According to Enrique Dans, the destiny of Blockchain is to “disappear”, not so much in its literal sense, but becoming invisible but present behind all the transactional systems.