Enabling preservation of privacy in the Enterprise Blockchain era
Privacy has always been an essential aspect of human existence. As more data becomes digitized, and more information is shared online, data privacy becomes more important. Data privacy refers to how data is managed based on its importance. Not only is this a business concern, but individuals are exposed to a lot of risks when it comes to the privacy of their data. The more you know about your privacy rights, the better it can protect you from many dangers. In this digital age, the concept of data privacy is used primarily for sensitive personal information, also known as personal identifiable information (PII) and personal health information (PHI).
It usually includes necessary information such as financial data, medical and health records, social security numbers and dates of birth, full names, and addresses. For a business, data privacy violates the PII of its customers and employees. It also includes information that helps to operate, such as private research and development data or financial details showing expenditure within the organization. Recent history concerning data privacy indicates that bad things follow when data that should be private, comes into questionable hands.
As corporations realize that users are a precious and valuable asset in this information age, it helps companies understand their customers and ‘monitors’ customers and targets ‘relevant’ ads the user may not even want to see. Though many different models developed to improve users’ data security and how they play a role in the ongoing discourse on human rights privacy, Blockchain is undoubtedly one of the most prominent and successful models that we currently have.
Privacy and anonymity are two different concepts. As we increasingly receive monitoring and tracking incidents, they are often viewed as both increasingly necessary for societies’ safety. However, no entity should ever misuse this to access more than essential and must be done lawfully. This defines the fine line between privacy and anonymity. On the other hand, anonymity may harbor malicious entities that may or may not have motivated intentions, and law enforcement sees this as a potential problem.
It is essential to understand why privacy is an integral part of our civil rights — not just for the individual’s benefit, but necessary for a free society. Privacy is at the crossroads of two basic social concepts: control and trust.
Privacy is the ability to hold certain things in place regardless of the impact they have on society. To take a small example, I lock the door when I go to a men’s room — not because I’ve committed any crime or plot to overthrow the government in the men’s room, but because I want to keep the function there myself. But most importantly, it is in the community’s interest that each person as a whole has these benefits. There is not only a personal benefit but also a collective benefit.
Age of banks and cryptocurrency
Banks control communities, and communities affect individuals, and collective individuals form communities. We may think of it as a cooperative relationship. However, with the advancement of technology, the banking industry has seen rapid change over the past decade. The growth of experimental digital money like Bitcoin and smart contract platforms like Ethereum aims to be the world’s supercomputer. Money has changed as far as we know, but there has been a popular opinion and feel that banks have been slow to adapt to this rapid change.
Two crucial concepts have fundamentally changed.
- Millennials have a higher net worth of crypto assets than the old system.
- The rate of banking activity has increased in crypto networks over the old system.
Banks are slow and broken. Way too expensive. We are fascinated by the idea that digital monetary protocols work better than a bank. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are attractive, but it has created some significant concerns for regulators around the world.
Regulators are concerned that anonymity will accelerate contamination in the financial system. The financial system of nation-states does not like such contamination. For this reason, crypto adoption has faced many obstacles in the growth story, and regulators are descending harshly across many jurisdictions around the world.
Cryptocurrencies are new realities that the financial world must accept. Cryptocurrency is a growing animal, and everyone understands it well. Some people understand significantly very well, so they decided to positively impact the ecosystem by bringing out the best of both worlds. Who else can change this? Someone who understands the cryptocurrency world just as accurately as the banking world.
Lars Seier Christensen, Founder and CEO of Saxo Bank founded the Concordium Foundation and hopes Concordium will help move cryptocurrency to mainstream adoption because it needs to be a regulatory-compliant blockchain with a built-in identification layer. Hence, believes Concordium can help overcome a major obstacle in the world of cryptocurrency and banking. Making banks, crypto-compliant and help in making cryptocurrencies nation state-compliant according to the various jurisdictions’ regulatory laws across the world.
I view Concordium as the intersection of banks, nation-states, and cryptocurrency. This is incredibly great and will pave the way for more people accepting and adopting crypto very quickly.
As technology grows, it makes more sense to have developed monetary ethics, but at the same time have complete regulatory compliance. Achieving this will open up the maximum potential for cryptocurrency and help create more innovations without worrying about bureaucratic red-tapes significant, regulatory barriers and delays. It will help reduce barriers to entry and bring additional security and accountability. This will open up immense potential for businesses and individuals.
Some of the fantastic applications I see for Concordium have not started yet, but innovators should take advantage of this beautiful protocol.
Paperless, hassle-free, simple crypto banks in the form of wallets:
Imagine carrying your bank globally without worrying too much about local conversions because you have access to Concordium’s native token Global Transaction Unit ( GTU ), which is fully legal and compliant across various jurisdictions especially now that there is more scrutiny with the travel rule.
Reduced the login time for customers who require ID verification:
A global ID sure helps with identity authentication without revealing too much about actual data. This helps maintain the person’s privacy and makes it a fast and straightforward process to authenticate across any verification points. Be it to get a global sim card when travelling across countries, or booking a plane ticket. Identities will be the new passport.
Advanced credit rating facilities and inclusion in traditional finance:
Utilizing privacy to leverage the capability of availing loans based on the creditworthiness without divulging any sensitive financial data, and the disbursement process can be entirely automated for easy and fast processing. This will also ensure that the business does not give its competitors too much information such that they may take advantage of it using Zero-Knowledge proofs. This can help enterprises to take advantage of traditional financial systems they previously had no access to.
Automatic insurance line, in a few simple clicks :
The process of insurance can be simplified such that there is an automatic disbursal of claims to institutions and individuals based on the requests liked to their identity. It helps save time and the hassle for all verification processes one must jump through to claim insurance.Since the ID’s are verified it becomes easy for claim process.
Ability to participate and contribute to cryptocurrency
For the purchase of traditional assets and sell these assets in exchange for cryptocurrencies, with automatic legal compliance and tax management will encourage new financial models, and the whole process can be managed with smart contracts and simple interfaces without having to worry about what happens behind the screen or regulatory compliance.
Advanced Financial Applications
Concordium will have a ton of applications in the financial world. Imagine using the power of DeFi in the traditional financial world. I believe that sooner or later, Governments will have an issue with DeFi applications and legal implications. KYC and AML are some of the necessary regulations we need to follow to be a functioning society. With an inbuilt Identity layer, Concordium can efficiently operate a Decentralized liquid exchange while being fully compliant with the regulations and providing the ability to shield any private information if necessary.
Concordium will change investment behaviors and patterns and open up new avenues for trade and finance.
Imagine selling your house in a few clicks and getting paid instantly without worrying about it? Rental sharing will become a reality and will benefit customers and homeowners alike. All of it fully regulatory compliant. Millennials will love this technology, simplifying Identity management, and Regulation has played a significant role in bringing cryptocurrency and Blockchain to the masses and businesses.
Concordium released their Incentivized Testnet 3.0 on the 6th October, with the incentivization program starting from the 15th October. Testers, developers, and users from all over the world are competing and collectively can earn up to a total of 10 million GTU( Global Transaction Unit ) , which will be paid out once the mainnet is launched, so it’s a good way to get involved early and fast since Concordium has no public sale or ICO.
About Concordium
Learn more: https://concordium.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ConcordiumNet
Telegram: https://t.me/concordium_official
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Concordium_Official
Developers Hub: https://developers.concordium.com/tech
Concordium Blockchain Research Center Aarhus (COBRA):https://cs.au.dk/research/centers/concordium/
