Since the mining of the first bitcoin, cryptocurrencies have represented the opportunity for a significant leap forward in our understanding of economics. Though bitcoin was created, with no centralized authority, as a digital alternative to traditional currencies, the underlying computer protocol that makes cryptocurrencies possible has since been discovered to have a wide variety of use cases outside of powering electronic money. From immutability of distributed ledgers to the security offered by the cryptographic encryption, many features of blockchain have made appealing solutions to problems across various industries. Here are the five industries seeing the most significant disruption from the introduction of blockchain.
1. Financial Services
Given that the first implementation of blockchain technology was in digital currency, it’s no surprise the financial services industry is poised for a major shakeup. Cryptocurrencies built on blockchains can be developed by small teams of developers, meaning there’s no need for banks. Because the ledger of transactions is public, verifiable and distributed, there’s no trust involved with making a payment to another party and no risk that they won't pay. This makes businesses that focus on facilitating financial exchanges largely unnecessary.
Cryptocurrencies have also brought the world of financial services the initial coin offering. Through the public sale and distribution of a unique cryptographic token, companies building on blockchain platforms can raise money to fund the development of their growing projects. To date, seeking funding in this manner has helped blockchain companies raise billions of dollars collectively, with some companies raising millions of dollars within minutes. A significant portion of these contributions has come from enthusiastic users who are speculating on the success of a new technology venture, not the traditional venture capitalists who startups had to rely on in the past. This shift in fundraising model for new companies will have untold effects on the future of the economy.
2. Foreign Currency Exchanges
Remittances are the dollars earned in one country then sent overseas to relatives in another. Many nations draw significant portions of their annual revenue generated coming from remittances. In Mexico, remittances have surpassed oil for money brought into the country. With some estimates putting remittances at nearly half a trillion dollars sent globally every year, the networks that facilitate these international transactions rake in billions of dollars in profit off of currency exchange and transaction fees.
Even other forms of international transactions, like purchasing something online from overseas, are heavily burdened with currency exchange fees. Travelling internationally, currency exchanges in airports or cities often offer unfavorable exchange rates. Borderless cryptocurrencies built with blockchain technology allow for the transfer of wealth internationally nearly instantaneously, without the need for a third party to facilitate such actions -- eliminating unnecessarily high fees.
3. Supply Chain Management
International trade is one of the most complex industries on the planet, requiring the coordination of millions of items through thousands of different channels. Key players in the shipping and logistics industries are researching how blockchain technology can be applied to supply chain management. Using a blockchain platform, a system can easily and automatically track individual products, parts or goods along the journey from supplier to customer, keeping an extensive and secure record of serial numbers, transportation history and ownership. This has the potential to offer greater transparency and operational efficiency going so far as helping to enforce international customs regulations.
4. Retail And E-Commerce Advertising
The retail and e-commerce industries are growing exponentially more competitive as marketplace options increase. Naturally, companies in these industries use advertising as a source of new customers. But acquiring new business through advertising requires relying on trusting third-party ad networks to act as middlemen to serve the advertisements. This makes those middlemen gatekeepers between businesses and their potential customers.
One of the fundamental qualities of blockchain technology is the secure decentralization of public, verifiable ledgers. There are several promising initiatives in the blockchain space focused on returning control of user data to the individuals, making the cumbersome and often expensive middlemen obsolete. For example, BitClave is using blockchain to eliminate ad service middleman and create a direct connection between business and customers. Brave and Presearch are two other great examples of blockchain projects that aim to put browsing data back into the hands of the users. By allowing consumers to selectively and securely share their identity data on their terms, companies within the blockchain space make it easier for users to better connect with advertisements through smart contract-based incentive programs and smarter matchmaking.
5. Identity Management
The leap forward in ad tech is largely due to the innovative, new ways blockchain technology allows individuals to closely and securely monitor how they use their personal data. From international travel to healthcare records or financial loans, private information plays a significant role in the daily lives of many. Storing verified identity information on a blockchain allows for quicker, more efficient proof of identity without the need for third-party verification.
Online identity verification can cause significant delays in transactions, sometimes up to several days depending on what source is being used for verification. Because blockchains represent immutable, publicly verified databases, individuals can potentially unify all of their online data to be used as needed through one portal. Identity technology this potent can foreseeably impact any transaction where trusted information was previously needed, forever changing the way businesses collect and use user data.
Bron: https://www.forbes.com
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