How blockchain can help in the fight against COVID-19

It’s common in times of crisis to look to new technologies to offer a way out and a way forward. The challenges faced by humanity in the current corona crisis have governments and businesses alike looking at technology and new ideas from just about every sector hoping to minimize impact and get the world back on track.

But it seems that no matter where these organizations look, blockchain has the potential to make significant contributions towards stabilizing the situation and contributing to the establishment of safer, more reliable systems in the future.

Fighting COVID-19

Though blockchain is most widely recognized for its financial applications, this technology has the potential to play an equally important and direct role in fighting the spread of the coronavirus itself.

One of the best examples of this comes from Stanford University, where the Folding@home distributed computing project is using blockchain to collect GPU power from participating nodes to be used in the search for a coronavirus cure.

At the same time blockchain is also powering solutions meant to help individuals keep their social distance, governments enforce lockdown regulations and even track the spread of the virus. Perhaps most importantly, blockchain offers a secure, immutable and transparent solution to these issues at a time when many fear the potential abuse of power that comes with sophisticated surveillance tools.

Meeting the economic challenge

Blockchain may even be on a path to help fight COVID-19 directly; it is already well prepared to step in and offer financial solutions to ease the daunting economic fallout that is only just now beginning to emerge.

This contribution may also come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The World Economic Forum has laid out in detail how blockchain-based solutions could help supply chain disruption by improving visibility along its entire length so that suppliers can accurately track the flow of goods and make sure they are buying from sources that can deliver.

Blockchain-based crypto and other financial solutions also have a role to play. Even the US stimulus package originally included the establishment of a digital version of the dollar to ease payment as the economy moves even further online and away from cash. While this was removed in the final version of the legislation, it serves as an indication of how lawmakers view the potential of blockchain in the current crisis.

There is also a good chance that existing stablecoins like our own USDEX will benefit in the long run from the dramatic shifts that are taking place. In the months to come, more individuals are likely to make the transition to digital money as they stay at home. While the circumstances are far from ideal, the corona crisis could very well be a watershed moment in establishing blockchain as the technology of the future.

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