3 Blockchain Technologies Changing Their Industries
With new blockchain companies popping up all the time that promise new and innovative ways to solve problems, it’s hard to know what ones are truly doing the groundbreaking things. Here are three particular startups that the we consider innovative, disruptive, and unique.
1. The Boomerang Project — A More Trusted Online Review System
Online reviews play an important role in e-commerce and the gig economy with 90% of consumers reading online reviews before making a purchase. A one-star bump on Yelp can translate to a 5–9% increase in revenue. But there is an acknowledged paucity of trust in online reviews of online transactions today that can be addressed by blockchain.
Now imagine being at a grocery store, having a pleasant checkout with your cashier, and deciding to rate that experience. That rating is then translated to a tip or managerial recognition of that cashier’s great performance. That’s a microcosm of what The Boomerang Project (fka Kudos) is looking to do.
The Boomerang Project wants to restore trust in transaction ratings. It is a blockchain-based platform expected to enable a global system of online reviews, loyalty rewards programs, and tipping based on verified transactions with a focus on the “gig economy” that connects contracted service providers (‘workers’) with consumers via an online/mobile app platform. Since the platform will be decentralized and will not be owned by any single entity, it is expected to eliminate or reduce the number of unverified reviews and restore trust in ratings.
2. Tari Tickets — Eliminating Ticket Fraud
Event ticketing is broken. They have normalized a market where artists, teams, promoters, and venues don’t share in any of the ticket resale revenue, which is a large and growing market. It’s hard to buy tickets, and scalping and counterfeiting are nightmares for venues, promoters, artists, sports teams, and fans. Currently, ticketing platforms underinvest in innovation and don’t prioritize improving the user experience for all of their stakeholders.
Now, what if each ticket sold wasn’t static but dynamic and you could track (or block) every resale? What if you could set parameters where each ticket resold would give 10% back to the artist or sports team? That’s what Tari is looking to do for tickets and more.
Tari Tickets plans to provide ticketing, marketing, and adjacent services to the global live events industry and will be a Reference Design for the Tari Assets Management System (TAMS). TAMS will be a blockchain platform that is highly scalable, open-source, and decentralized. It will be used to create, manage, and trade nearly any kind of digital asset. In addition, TAMS will be one of the first blockchain protocols to release a commercially viable reference design that will demonstrate utility and drive adoption of the underlying protocol and its native token.
3. The Codex Protocol — Blockchain for Fine Art and Collectibles
Without a central title registry for arts and collectibles items, it is difficult to verify ownership and trace ownership history when establishing a collectible item’s value. Forgeries cost the arts and collectibles industry $6 billion a year in losses. Right now, there are currently several methods of sale in the art and collectibles market, including private sales, live actions, and timed auctions. All of these methods lack a centralized title registry for each asset class (fine art, wine, jewelry, watches, collectible cars, etc.). Tracking, identifying, and confirming that an item is legitimate has been a challenge — yet that’s critical to valuation.
Codex is making that easier. They have developed The Codex Protocol, which is a registry built on the blockchain that can show ownership, transmission history, and metadata like past appraisals, restoration records, or photographs. The Codex Protocol provides a way for everyone to verify ownership while keeping it decentralized and anonymous. The protocol maintains accurate title records, enables arts and collectible transactions, streamlines auction operations, all while maintaining privacy of participants.
All three of these companies demonstrate that blockchain is infinitely more than cryptocurrency, and that promising ventures can be created that use the technology in innovative ways.
