Thanks to the recent popularity surge of digital cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, the term “blockchain” has gone from obscure technical jargon to one of the most bandied buzzwords in business and financial news.
So, what is Blockchain?
Blockchain allows for the creation of a decentralized public record of digital information. It is the first digital technology that offers a way for unsecured parties to refer to a common, indestructible(append-only) digital record.
Why should you adopt blockchain technology in your business platform?
The main benefits associated with this technology are:
- Trust
- Decentralized structure
- Improved security and privacy
- Reduced costs
- Speed
- Visibility and traceability
- Individual control of data
- Tokenization
Here are some of the practical applications of blockchain technology:
Financial services :Compared to traditional transaction systems, blockchain-based transactions happen at a much lesser time and are fully transparent.
Cryptocurrency: A shared distributed ledger that is cryptographically encrypted stores the ownership records of the individual coins.
Healthcare:From secure health record management, medical staff credentialing, drug traceability to fraudulent activity detection in clinical trials, blockchain revolutionizes the way healthcare data is managed.
Smart contracts :Form of digital agreement that helps you exchange digital currencies, shares, land properties, or anything value-added between two or more parties without an intermediary service.
Supply chain:It can improve traceability of consumer goods or finished products during delivery and can help better trademarking of consumer goods or finished products.
Real estate :One of the major advantages of using blockchain in real estate is that it could be used to greatly improve the land registry process.
Closing thoughts
One of the roadblocks to blockchain adoption is business leaders’ mixed reactions to the importance and significance of blockchain technologies. But whatever their stance, it cannot be denied that there are businesses that have realized billions in cost savings by implementing blockchain technology. With use cases spanning from financial applications to fashion and healthcare, it would not be surprising for blockchain technology to be adopted even beyond the pandemic.