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Going beyond Bitcoin
The extensive applications of blockchain today are no longer limited to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum or Ripple. We can see organizations building their blockchains for industrial and business purposes other than pure finance. They say banking and finance is only the beginning. Blockchain technology has the potential to transform over 58 industries.
“[Blockchain] is the biggest opportunity set we can think of over the next decade or so.” –
Bob Greifeld, CEO, NASDAQ
The numbers have it…
According to CB Insights’ Market Sizing Tool, the annual spending on blockchain solutions will reach nearly $16B by 2023. The worldwide blockchain market is predicted to grow exponentially from US$3 billion in 2020 to US$39.7 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 67.3%, according to the blockchain trends for 2021 and beyond.
“Anything that can be conceived of as a supply chain, blockchain can vastly improve its efficiency- it doesn’t matter if its people, numbers, data, money.” – Ginni Rometty, CEO IBM
Blockchain has been a game-changer in several other industries, like education, healthcare, supply chain, logistics, real estate, etc. As per the most recent information, the global Blockchain market is predicted to have a CAGR of 67.3%, reaching a value of US$39.7 billion between 2020 and 2025.
Blockchains operate through a decentralized platform requiring no central supervision, making them fraud resistant.
Hence, today we see their adoption in businesses across industries ranging from infrastructure to public policy. Let’s take a look at some of the top use cases that are likely to stay beyond 2021.
Top 5 Blockchain Use Cases
To support rapid blockchain adoption, new regulations are being put into place by Governments worldwide. Ever since the financial sector employed blockchain, many organizations have been attracted to exploring its endless possibilities.
Out of the several blockchain use cases, here are the top five.
- International payments: International payments and money transfers are made easier with blockchain since it provides a tamper-proof method to track sensitive activities. Banco Santander, for example, launched the very first blockchain-based money transfer service in April 2018. The service used blockchain to lessen the number of intermediary banks, allowing individuals and organizations to transfer money internationally more securely and efficiently.
2. Healthcare: The healthcare industry can often be vulnerable to cyber crime, which is where blockchain comes in. Blockchain allows data to be distributed safely between hospitals and clinics, increasing the effectiveness of treatments and making the diagnoses more accurate. A use case in this scenario was when an AI-based startup known as Hu-manity.co collaborated with IBM to develop an app to manage the data of personal patients effectively. The app enables the users to control both the access and the commercial use of their respective health records.
3. Voting: Blockchain helps in making voting both secure and accessible. A startup that used blockchain in this context is FollowMyVote, which is a transparent online voting platform. The eligible people receive a token that lets them vote just once, with every vote being stored as a node in the blockchain.
4. Media: In media, blockchain technology helps with reducing expenditure, eradicating fraud, and protecting IP rights, such as music records. Eluvio, which was launched in 2019, employs blockchain in a way that helps content producers with the management and distribution of premium video to consumers and business partners without the involvement of content delivery networks. MGM Studios have also approached the platform to stream globally for mobile, web, and TV Everywhere audiences of certain properties.
5. Food safety: The food industry uses blockchain to avoid issues such as infections and poisoning that can be caused because of spoiled food and beverages. Walmart and IBM partnered in 2018 with other food organizations to develop a blockchain-driven food traceability network that used open-source technology. The idea was to enable the retailers to track a product right from the starting point to the last step within just 2.2 seconds, a task that would otherwise take up to seven days.
Such rapid blockchain adoption across industries is creating massive opportunities for professionals and entrepreneurs. But there is a severe shortage of professionals with relevant expertise.
Building blockchain expertise
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