Blockchain Technology took the world by storm with the introduction of bitcoin and ethereum cryptocurrency. Both these cryptocurrencies wouldn't have been in existence without this technology that was conceptualized by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. A lot is going in and around this technology and many are trying to adopt it reap benefits of it.
However, the finance domain was the first one to adopt this technology. And with the growing popularity, it has started to spread in various other domains of the industry.
Here are 10 practical application of blockchain technology :
1.Healthcare :
To track and maintain medical records of patients and as well as medical supplies and inventory of drugs and their supply orders.
2.Smart Contracts :
Smart contracts are those that are digitally enforced the terms of a contract. And since making changes to contract can’t be done without the approval of both sides, there’s a mutual trust maintained.
3.ICO's :
ICO stands for Initial Coin Offering. A mechanism for startups to raise funds by offering tokens in exchange for bitcoin.
4.Voting :
Since data in blockchain can’t be easily tampered or altered it makes a very secure way of recording votes and resolve the underlying issue of tampered votes.
5.Logistics :
In logistics, it can help in pinpoint tracking of the shipment without involving tedious paperwork.
6.Payment Gateways :
With crypto exchanges and secure payment process anyone can send and receive from across with worrying about exchange rates and commissions of 3rd party payment services.
7.Data Storage :
For data storage blockchain provides great security from getting compromised as compared to cloud storage. Also, it maintains previous iterations of the altered data so just in case you want to revert the changes made are also feasible.
8.Copyrighting Protection :
In the age of digital media, piracy has always been an issue with the media industry. Here blockchain can ensure that artist gets the due royalty and cut down on piracy.
9.Digital ID's :
In the online world maintaining one’s identity has always been crucial. Blockchain ensures that your digital identification isn’t tampered or spoofed.
10.Real estate :
Blockchain is used here to help buyers search for properties to buy or rent and automatically implement the terms of the contract and allow users to pay using digital currencies. Blockchain helps in making the entire process more transparent and quick without the involvement of brokers or other intermediaries.
What is makes this technology so lucrative for the industry?
The answer is SECURITY.
The security blockchain provides in real-world applications is currently unmatched by anyone.
How does it do it?
Blockchain offers an immutable decentralized ledger. The data is stored in blocks assigned with cryptographic hashes that are further linked to other blocks. This entire chain is encrypted. To access these blocks or the chain you need to a set of digital keys ie :
1. Private Keys : To grant authorization and encryption over the blocks
2. Public Keys : Address or an identification of the chain.
Any changes made to blocks are stored onto the new block and is linked to its older iteration. Here no alterations can be done to older blocks and new changes made need the authorization of all the members/owners in the chain without each again no changes can be made. To add more security data integrity the blockchain saves a copy of each block on every computer in the network thereby making it more secure and almost impossible to hack into.
Lastly, it tracks and stores all the activity happening on the chain and makes it easy to track back the changes and pinpoint the source of the problem
The impact that Blockchain technology brings
1.Building Trust : The transparency of the records helps in establishing trust amongst parties.
2.Data Protection : The data or records stored in blocks are not easily accessible or prone to alteration by anyone. Thereby protecting your sensitive data such as ID and other information.
3.Applications : Various applications of this technology will be replacing the old school process that includes middlemen or intermediaries making it a more time-efficient and transparent process.
Well, there's a lot of good things blockchain brings with, BUT no technology comes with 0 drawbacks and blockchain has it's own.
1.Scalability : At present, Blockchain isn't very friendly when it comes to scaling it up. But this also largely depends on the scale of application, private applications of blockchain see's no problem in terms of performance, the same when applied on a global level can have slack in performance.
2.Storage : As we all know by now that blockchain stores the entire history of chain on all the computers present in the network it leads to having higher latency and requires a huge amount of storage space to function smoothly with progression in time. So smaller portable devices aren't quite apt for the same.
Blockchain is still developing, yet being so young, has bought notable impacts in real-world applications. There are few areas where it needs to work on but right now it is ready for limited applications such as providing cross border payment gateway's, digital currencies, logistics, etc.
Many experts say that the future of blockchain will take another 5 years or so to show exactly where it's headed and all of this depends on how current issues are dealt with. But with time it is gaining traction just like how the internet did in its early stages.
Private blockchains will be welcomed by organizations but the public blockchain is still a question. No government will willingly adopt blockchain to make things transparent be in the coming 5 years or the next 15 years.
In conclusion, blockchain will remain popular and with time as business leaders keep digging into and keep innovating, it'll be a much mature technology than it is now. If you are a blockchain developer the future looks bright for you and the demand for the people having the right skills is going surely seeing a rise as the time passes-by.
