The blockchain is a “distributed ledger” technology that underlies digital currencies like GoldenCoin.
It gives a way to record and transfer data that is transparent, safe, auditable, and resistant to outages.
Whilst most blockchain activity have focused on financial services; it will likely to disrupt many industries in the upcoming 5 to 10 years that includes data, transactions, and network.
The blockchain applications vary from a whole new approach to banking & insurance sector and cloud storage & digital security technologies.
But also the reinvention of things like collaboration (crowdfunding), shared services (car sharing), and customer relationships (loyalty programs).
It can also bring equality and access across the communities of the world addressing challenges such as poverty, education and connecting people.
Some say its influence will be as notable as the aircraft, or the Internet connecting the world in distinct and innovative ways – uncovering the new possibilities and the opportunities for business and society.
These are some of the industries blockchain is already disrupting. Let’s have a look:
#1. Banking and Payments
Some say that the blockchain will do to banking what the internet did to media. It can be used to give access to financial services to billions of people around the world including those in third world countries who don’t have access to traditional banking.
Technologies like Golden Coin allow anyone to send money across borders almost instantly and with very low fees. Many banks like Barclays is also working on embracing blockchain technology to make their business operations faster, more efficient and secure.
Banks are also progressively investing in blockchain start-ups and projects. IBM envisions that 15% of banks will be practicing the blockchain by the end of 2017.
#2. Cyber Security
Although the blockchain ledger is public, the data is verified and encrypted using advanced cryptography. This way the data is less prone to being hacked or changed without authorization. It drops the requirement for a middle man making it more efficient than many legacy systems in cyber security.
#3. Supply Chain Management
With blockchain technology, transactions can be documented in a permanent decentralized record; monitored securely and transparently.
This can significantly reduce time delays and human mistakes. It can also be used to track costs, labor, and emissions at every point of the supply chain. It has serious implications for understanding and controlling the real environmental impact of products.
The distributed ledger can also be used to confirm the authenticity or fair trade status of products by tracking them from their origin. Some blockchain startups working in this sector are Provenance, Fluent, SKUChain, and Blockverify.
#4. Forecasting
The blockchain is set to revamp the whole approach to research, consulting, analysis and forecasting. Online platforms like Augur are looking to create global decentralized prediction markets.
These technologies can be used to place and monitor bets on anything from sports to stocks to elections in a decentralized way.
#5. Insurance
The global insurance market relies on the trust management. The blockchain is a unique way of managing trust and can be used to verify many types of data in insurance contracts, such as the insured person’s identity.
This technology is beneficial for any type of insurance that relies on real-world data, for example, crop insurance.
#6. Private Transport and Ride Sharing
The blockchain can be used to create decentralized versions of peer-to-peer ridesharing apps, allowing both car owners and users to arrange terms and conditions in a reliable way without third party providers. Startups working in this area include Arcade City etc.
The use of built-in e-wallets can allow car owners to automatically pay for parking, highway tolls, and electricity top-ups for their vehicle.
#7. Voting
Probably one of the most influential areas of society that the blockchain will disrupt is voting. The 2016 US election is not the first time certain parties were involved in rigging election results.
Blockchain technology can be used for voter registration and identity verification, electronic vote counting to assure that only genuine votes are counted, and no votes are changed or removed.
Creating an immutable, publicly-viewable ledger of recorded votes would be an extensive step toward making elections more fair and democratic.
Democracy Earth and Follow My Vote are two startups endeavoring to disrupt democracy itself by building blockchain-based online voting systems for governments.
#8. Government
Government systems are usually slow, opaque, and prone to corruption. Implementing blockchain-based systems can notably lessen bureaucracy and increase security, efficiency, and transparency of government operations.
Dubai, for example, is proposing to put all its government documents on the blockchain by 2020.
#9. Healthcare
Another industry that relies on many legacy systems and is ripe for disruption is healthcare.
One of the hurdles hospitals face is the lack of a reliable platform to store and share data, and they are often victims of hacking because of outdated infrastructure.
Blockchain technology can enable hospitals to securely save data like medical records and share it with accredited specialists or patients.
It can improve data security and can even help with accuracy and speed of diagnosis. Gem and Tierion are two startups that are working on disrupting the current healthcare data space.
#10. Retail
When you shop, your trust of the retail system is connected to the trust of the store or marketplace. Decentralized blockchain-based retail utilities operate differently: they connect buyers and sellers without an intermediary and associated fees.
In these cases, trust begins from smart contract systems, the security of exchanges, and built-in reputation management systems. Two startups disrupting the retail space are OpenBazaar and OB1.
#11. Real Estate
Some of the issues in buying and selling properties have lack of transparency, fraud, and mistakes in public records. Using blockchain technology can expedite the transactions by reducing the need for paper-based record keeping.
It can also assist with tracking, verify ownership, ensure the certainty of documents, and transfer property deeds.
#12. Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding has grown a popular method of fundraising for new start-ups and projects in current years.
Crowdfunding platforms endure to create trust between project creators and supporters, but they also charge high fees. In blockchain-based crowd funding, trust is rather created through smart contracts and online reputation systems, which removes the need for a middle-man.
New projects can raise funds by releasing their tokens that signify value and can later be exchanged for products, services, or cash. Many blockchain start-ups have now raised millions of dollars by such token sales.
Although it’s still early days and the regulatory future or blockchain-based crowdfunding is uncertain, it’s an area that carries a lot of promise.
Your Industry
If your industry deals with data or transactions of any kind, it is a field that can likely be disrupted by blockchain technology. The space is wide open, and the possibilities are many.
Note: The Difference Between Public and Private Blockchain
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