The Opportunities for Blockchain- Why Women Should Be At The Forefront
If you’re like me, then you’ve heard the term blockchain be spoken about and applied in many different contexts. In some cases, however, commenters and innovators don’t consider how this emerging technology could affect our daily lives or routines professionally and personally. That, in my opinion, is the best part of blockchain itself. It’s the potential impact it could have on people and the social norm. Many blockchain enthusiasts are taking advantage of this time to integrate this technology into their lives and the lives of others.
Businesses especially are hitting the ground running in making the next best blockchain solution. We as a society are at a time where the next Facebook, Google, or Microsoft is begging to be created in the blockchain space. Blockchain technology, like cryptocurrency, is shaping the way we traditionally spend money with one another and paving the way for the overall digitalization of money. Many companies like PwC and JPMorgan (JPM), for example, are considered industry leaders in this area. PwC has been one of the most active companies wanting to enter the crypto and blockchain space with the investment in VeChain, an internet-of-things blockchain-based network originating in China. Aside from this, PwC also began to educate 1,000 of its employees in the areas of blockchain and cryptocurrency under the “Digital Accelerators Program”.
JPMorgan, on the contrary, introduced JPM coin back in December of 2018. They became the first bank to design and test a digital coin. The goal of this new fiat currency was to allow for instantaneous payments between JPM’s institutional clients through a blockchain-based technology framework. The platform is said to have 350+ members on it with plans to expand further into 2020 to Japan.
The transparency and immutability capabilities blockchain is also attractive to other areas in business. Supply chain organizations in companies like Walmart are taking advantage of blockchain’s functionality to track where food comes from, from the moment it grows to its placement on the shelf of retail stores. Walmart is answering the question of, “Who produces this food, and how can I trust what the label says?”. With the use of the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain, growers, distributors, and retailers can now provide customers digitalized certifications of existing organic or fair-trade products. In addition to this, better traceability has the power for companies to act smarter and faster if there was an outbreak of food-borne disease. The use of blockchain in the financial and supply chain industries is projected to grow in the future, but it isn’t just limited to those areas of business. Healthcare is another area that has immense potential to use blockchain for social good. Medical records, for example, has a promising future with this technology. When a medical record is produced and endorsed, it can be written to a blockchain. This will, in turn, ensure customer privacy with their health records with the confidence of knowing it can’t be changed. The impact blockchain could have on industries is truly transformational and is even expected to add $360 million in business value by 2026, according to the global advisory firm, Gartner.
Despite the advancements there have been in blockchain, some may argue that women haven’t been at the forefront of it. There are only a handful of female influencers that are establishing their mark with blockchain. One such influencer is Neha Narula, Director of the Digital Currency Initiative at the MT Media Lab, who builds distributed systems and databases. In addition, Kathleen Breitman is the co-founder of Tezos, a company that has developed a platform for smart contracts and other decentralized applications that has equated to $232 million in ICO. Meltem Demirors is the CEO of CoinShares, the first to launch a regulated bitcoin investment fund. Demirors also provided the first bitcoin and ether-based securities on a regulated public exchange. However, these three women only make up 8.78% of the female bitcoin community. Some women feel that the harshness of the industry is unattractive for them to pursue. The volatility and risk are what drive females away as they are deemed to be more risk-averse when being compared to men. As a woman who is interested in blockchain, I’d like to change that ideology and reverse that way of thinking. Blockchain has so many opportunities to do good in society and make our lives better. It is up to us to change the norm. I can’t wait to see what the future holds in the field and will be making sure to follow it in years to come!
