Blockchain Technology is here to stay and 5 reasons how it is gonna affect you.
“The goal of humanity since the cognitive revolution is to come together” this was rightly stated in Yuval Noah Harari’s 2011 bestseller Sapiens.
Since the cognitive revolution, humans have realised that survival can only be achieved by working and cooperating.
This can be the difference between survival and death to the establishment of our species on top of the food chain.
There are multiple examples of cooperation like the development in language to hunting large animals together and in modern times globalisation.
Now, what does all this have to do with Blockchain Technology?
In many ways, Blockchain Technology, when simplified, is a way for people to come together. It works on the premise of cohesiveness and collectiveness of all who are part of it.
What is Blockchain Technology?
A blockchain is a large distributed immutable ledger that is nearly impossible to alter and can be used to track everything that holds value.
The blockchain stores information in a decentralised manner where it distributes data across different computers also known as Nodes. That are all connected by a common network.
Anyone can be part of this network, it takes the storage of data away from the centralised authority like the Government, banks etc who can change and alter information at their will.
And stores it in a decentralised manner where everybody is acting as a store of data , any discrepancy will be caught by the others because everybody has the same data.
Why is it Called Blockchain?
The reason we call it blockchain is because of the way it stores its data.
Every time new data or Relevant information is entered a new block is created.
For Example -Relevant information changes depending on the use case basis if one is using blockchain for cryptocurrency then it will store transactions.
Every block will include 3 things
1. Relevant information that might be transaction ,land records ,bank details etc
2. A 64 alphanumeric number also known as hash can be called the fingerprint of the block.
3. And the hash of the previous block.
Thus forming a chain of blocks called the blockchain
If one tries to change certain data of a block this will change the hash of that block resulting in the hash not matching with the next block and so a discrepancy will be observed and the hacker will be caught.
The 5 ways blockchain will change our lives
- Healthcare- A person’s health and wellness are important to leave to chance.
The healthcare industry has been plagued with constant data breaches and inefficient practices.
Since the year 2009 to 2017, there have been 176 million data breaches from getting credit card information to medical history.
The implementation of blockchain would provide patients with absolute security in regards to their credit card and payment information.
They could use blockchain to store their medical records and their diagnostics and could share them with other providers and medical organisations
Making healthcare collaborative with different users saves time and money causing providers to have authentic and relevant information with them.
2. Supply Chain monitoring
The supply chain is based on an estimated 17 trillion dollars.
Goods are produced and distributed through a complex network that is riddled with high transaction costs, frequent mismanagement and errors in manual paperwork, and environmental damage through inefficiency.
Blockchain-based technology could be adopted for improving supply chains by providing the infrastructure for certifying and tracking goods at a low cost between distant parties who are trading with one another.
This would give the parties access to see the different stages and the authenticity of the goods. This will come as a relief for a sector infamous for theft, counterfeit products and loss of goods.
Certification would also be welcomed for example.
How do we know if the eggs we eat are organic? With blockchain's help, we would be able to track the origin of the eggs from the farm to the retailer and could discern if it truly is organic or not.
3. Payment processing and money transfers
Our current payment system is filled with flaws from taking days to process a transaction with added fees to having a host of middlemen at every stage to take a cut from our hard-earned money.
Blockchain technology offers super-fast, low cost secured payment services with a distributed ledger that gives transparency and security.
It allows you to transact with anybody in the world without the need to pay a middleman commission fee for the exchange of dollars for euros or vice versa.
4. Electronic Voting
In today’s world where people are travelling and flexibility is the need of the hour.
Many citizens cannot always be present to cast their votes in their respective districts.
To add to the growing mistrust and huge amounts of money needed to conduct an election.
Blockchain technology would be ideal to solve this issue as a person would only need a smart device and an internet connection to cast their vote.
They would first have to verify their id checked by the election authority ensuring no double voting once that is done a ballot would be sent to them.
They would cast their vote and that vote would be stored in the form of a transaction on the blockchain.
This vote would not be able to be changed owing to the immutable characteristics of the blockchain
The person would also be able to verify if his/her vote was cast.
Creating transparency, improving trust in the authorities and saving lots of taxpayer money.
5. Keeping Land records and title deeds
There is a growing challenge faced in this sector due to the increase in land-related litigation and scams.
Like double selling of the same land that is having a cascading effect.
As a growing amount of paperwork is needed for getting loans approved, keeping land as collateral.
People have to run to different departments and pay a host of middlemen to spend money and time trying to get different papers in order.
It is the need of the hour to ensure that data in land records are not susceptible to alteration as each department relies fully on the integrity of the previous one.
Here the use of blockchain technology would revolutionise the sector as records will be stored accurately.
The existing history of land will be verified and stored on the blockchain.
Once the records are certified by the appropriate authorities. They will have access to the tamper-proof documents, thus making land processes faster.
Conclusion
The world is changing and is changing fast just like the internet came about as a simple idea and completely transformed our lives and continues to do so. Blockchain technology can be categorised as the same we are still only on the tip of the iceberg for what this technology can really do and how it will change our lives.
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