The use of blockchain outside of the cryptocurrency market

Currently, many people tie the concept of blockchain to cryptocurrency. While blockchain, in a simplified sense, is a distributed database that provides and stores transactions perfect for use with cryptocurrency. Transactions in a blockchain database do not necessarily have to represent bitcoin and altcoins. The scope of the technology is much broader, given its exemplary advantages, such as data protection and anonymity. We are already developing projects that allow the use of blockchain in other socially important areas.

UTILITIES SECTOR

The blockchain is able to raise the efficiency of the housing sector to a whole new level. Homeowners could pay for water, electricity, heat and gas directly to the supplier, removing the need for a financial intermediary. Plus it provides a transparent process of payment and accrual of debt.

In the current system, the suppliers have to enter into a contract with the criminal code.

The weaknesses of the system:

• the bills are paid, but criminals have no way to transfer money to the supplier;
• the Criminal Code often spends money where it’s not needed most;
• the worst case scenario is that the Management Company ignores the supplier’s requests, hides and eventually goes bankrupt.

All this is reflected on the owners of the apartment with unpaid bills on their hands.

The International energy organization, is currently considering the blockchain, but with a narrow focus — to directly link buyers and sellers of resources or to provide an opportunity for consumers who own small energy generation companies to trade on it.

HEALTH SECTOR

Not so long ago, the Russian Federation adopted a law providing for the issuance of electronic recipes and electronic document management in the field of health. The next step in this direction could be the introduction of blockchain — for the organization of a secure online catalog with quick access.

We have long been accustomed to paperwork in hospitals and clinics — all these certificates and medical records. Is it convenient? Definitely not.

Blockchain offers a solution:

• a unified system of identification/authentication of citizens;
• a general system of interdepartmental electronic interaction (for information exchange);
• storage of data on the history of diseases;
• the reduction of corruption due to easy to tracking of any entry and diagnosis;
• easy consultation with confirmation of the diagnosis by several doctors (due to distributed structure of the blockchain).

In the health sector, blockchain would be useful not only for patients and doctors, but also for insurance companies. Any organization with a health-related business would be able to access a secure and comprehensive database.

SERVICES SECTOR

Insurance companies and banks are actively interested in the field of blockchain services. It even has reached the testing of some prototypes. Officials are seriously studying the technology to be employed in the distribution of pension and social payments.

In this case, the blockchain is attractive because it guarantees the confidentiality of information. In addition, it is able to simplify how information flows and keep it in order (especially important if you remember what huge amounts of data are stored and processed by banks and government agencies).

ELECTIONS

The next presidential election is coming — and we cannot avoid this issue with a party, in the case of blockchain-with a reserve for the future. A hypothetical election with use of the blockchain would look like this:

• instant voting and result counts (without the huge expenditure of human resources);
• the ability of a voter to track his vote (enough to know the address of the transaction at the time of voting);
• complete anonymity (the original address of the transaction knows only a specific citizen, but as the encryption key could be used passport number). An encryption key could be used to mask the original IP address of the transaction using a passport number, showing only that the voter is a citizen.

As a result, there would be no speculations about the openness of the electoral system in the country.

To sum up, let’s say that the blockchain is able to effectively cope with government tasks relating to millions of residents. Technology speeds up the administrative processes, saves money, and facilitates citizens’ access to various services. When organizing such a database, it is enough to locate nodes in domestic data centers — for a full guarantee of safety — or to involve the computing power of Russian enterprises, allowing business to benefit from it. In the future, the use of blockchain could lead to the creation of an independent and safe information space for residents of the Russian Federation.

Our company VRT World also intends to use blockchain in an unconventional way. The technology will serve as a basis for the marketplace in the VR sector, which will unite application developers, ordinary users and investors. On February 27, we will open the ICO — in order to attract the necessary funds — not to make another international VR ecosystem.