And Then There Was Blockchain

So, you think that only the financial services industry has been disrupted by blockchain tech? You would be wrong. It is certainly the industry where there has been the most impact thus far, but others will not be that far behind.

In this post, we will look at the major blockchain projects that, according to authority sites like BitFortune.net have been making a big splash.

In the Beginning

In the beginning, there was the Bitcoin blockchain. This proved that there was a better way to conduct financial transactions, and the banking industry has now stood up and taken notice. They are investing in their own blockchain projects or in startups with the necessary expertise.

R3 CEV is a startup that is working in conjunction with a large consortium of regulators, tech companies, and banks on Corda. The idea? A new platform to help financial markets operate more efficiently.

Let’s Get the Message Out

Of course, there is always interest in finding new ways to communicate with one another. Telegram has become a big player in this industry with close to 200 million users. It has been attracting attention for all the right reasons.

Blockchain

Hedging Your Bets

Numerai is looking at the hedge fund business model and applying blockchain tech to it by decentralizing it. It does so by sending datasets to quants all over the globe and gets them to build a predictive model based on the dataset.

Those that come up with the best models receive tokens from the company as a reward.

Make Your Choice

There was a lot of furors about the latest round of elections in the United States. (But, in all fairness, there usually is.) The startup company, Follow My Vote, is aiming to make the electoral process less open to tampering or inaccuracies.

With the records being permanently captured, there would be less needed to issue recounts.

Identify Yourself

If you are active online, you have probably had to set up various profiles and verify your identity many times over. The idea behind UPort and Blockstack is that you have a kind of passport that identifies you and that can be carried across various sites.

The Defense of the Internet

The IoT has never been closer to becoming a reality. The problem is that our current internet systems are worryingly insecure. The idea of a self-driving car is a reality, but for concepts like this to be more widely adopted, we need better security.

If a hacker could hack in, she could drive your car away simply. That is where blockchain tech could really come into its own. Xage, for example, is working on a way to adapt this tech to protect secure data.

With blockchain, any entries would need to be authenticated on the system before being acted upon. We are not quite ready for this in all areas, though. The speed of the verification process needs to be considered.

In a situation like that of a self-driving car, split-second timing might be critical, and this is where blockchain’s security protocols could be an issue.

Improve Your Credibility

For an educational qualification to carry any weight, it must be verifiable. At present, the process of verifying results is long-winded and manual in nature. Sony Global Education and IBM have started creating a platform that allows student records to be shared and easily verified.

The Cloud

Using cloud-based services currently always means accepting the risk that the company’s central server could be hacked. The blockchain allows data to be dispersed and thus not as easily deleted or stolen.

Filecoin has been working on creating a blockchain-based cloud service and rewards users for storing files. Essentially, users are really just renting real estate on their hard drives.

Golem, also a cloud-based app, works in a similar way except that people “rent” out their excess capacity from their CPU and earn tokens for doing so.

Blockchain

The Music Industry

The music industry looks set to change big time when it comes to the payment of royalties. Smart contracts are making it possible for royalties to be distributed automatically and accurately.

JAAK is a startup that is making interesting developments in this field. It is creating a platform that will aid creators in converting their existing media into content with smart contracts built into it. This would mean that the contracts would execute themselves when the work is sold.

Buy a House

Considering all the legal procedures and paperwork that buying or selling your property entails, you might be hesitant to entrust everything to blockchain-based tech. But, with the advent of smart contracts, permanent record keeping and the ability to process large quantities of data, the blockchain is a perfect repository for property ownership details.

Healthcare

This is another industry that can benefit from blockchain apps. Gem, a startup, has started the process off by creating a universal platform that allows patient information to be securely shared. Gem has also gone into partnership with Philips in this area.

Powering Your Life

Renewable and clean energy are big news these days. People are switching over more and more to produce their own energy instead of relying on the grid. Companies like Transactive Grid are helping to create a more competitive energy market.

Users producing more energy can sell it on. Users who need energy can buy it through the system at a more competitive rate. It is a win-win.

Are you surprised at the varied number and types of industries that blockchain tech affects? These examples are only a drop in the ocean, aimed at getting you to think more creatively about the potential that there is.

Much like the blockchain itself, there is a limitless number of possibilities.


About the Author:

Josh Wardini, Editorial Contributor and Community Manager at Webmastersjury.

With a preliminary background in communication and expertise in community development, Josh works day-to-day to reshape the human resource management of digitally based companies. When his focus trails outside of community engagement, Josh enjoys the indulgences of writing amidst the nature conservations of Portland, Oregon.

 

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