How will Blockchain Technology change the world?

Blockchain Technology is up and coming today and becoming more and more widespread. Its new and exciting nature has everyone talking about how this new technology could change the way we do business, finance, and even how activities in the digital world are performed. This technology is based on the idea of decentralized finance, that is, a form of finance that does not require an intermediary. Today, cryptocurrencies use blockchain technology successfully in monitoring and storing information. This process shows us the many possibilities of blockchain and its potential for the rest of the digital world in the future. 

There are many predictions that Blockchain Technology is the way forward and will become an integral part of our future. It will become widely used across industries, and we as consumers have to be ready to accept and adapt to the change that is coming in our near future. In this article, we will discuss the ways Blockchain Technology can be used and the changes that we will have to make as consumers. Before we get into all of this, we will first discuss what blockchain is.

What is Blockchain and where did it come from?

Blockchain is a technology that stores information on the master distributed ledger in a decentralized form. Everyone that has undergone a transaction will hold identical information on all transactions that have occurred on the blockchain. This allows transactions and other activities to occur on a peer-to-peer basis. One of blockchain’s main advantages is its transparency, which has become increasingly important in today’s individualistic world. It is then not surprising that Blockchain Technology has gained such a high acceptance rate so quickly.

The origin of Blockchain first came from research that proposed the concept of “Chain of Block” in 1991, which later became widely known in 2009, when the technology had developed to a point where it became fully functioning and used with Bitcoin. This is the starting point where the concept of Blockchain became known. Since then the technology has continued to develop and have more use cases, and eventually, we see it changing the digital world and possibly ridding the need for intermediaries altogether.

What can Blockchain be used for?

The possibilities of blockchain are endless. There are many businesses out there that continue to develop Blockchain Technology in order to make it as efficient as possible and to expand its ability to be used in many different industries. The goal here is the ability for these businesses to function without an intermediary. Today, Blockchain Technology is being developed and altered to create innovations that will change the world. In this article, we will give examples of the use of Blockchain Technology.

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is an example of Blockchain Technology that everyone likely already knows about. It is a market where Blockchain Technology has been fully implemented successfully. The way cryptocurrency works on the blockchain has to do with financial activities and transactions. It transforms the way we transfer or deposit money, and with the blockchain, this no longer has to go through a bank. This is because everyone on the blockchain has the same information which contains all the transactions that have ever occurred on the blockchain. Whenever anyone engages in any financial activity on the blockchain, everyone’s personal ledger is updated with that information and there is no need for the bank to track all of these activities.

Smart contracts

Another successful development of blockchain is smart contracts, a set of commands that run automatically. These sets of instructions are coded on blockchain, and when any activity meets the criteria in these instructions, the smart contract will automatically be executed. Smart contracts can also be altered to fit many other use cases from DeFi to buy/sell/lease contracts, agreements, and even ownership contracts for NFTs, making smart contracts easily and widely adopted in the digital space. This is helpful in terms of speed, transparency, security, and cost savings.

Electronic voting

The use of Blockchain to help in online elections has also been gaining traction in many countries. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the voting format has changed and electronic voting has been introduced in order to reduce congestion. However, electronic voting does have its drawbacks in terms of transparency. There are methods to cheat in scoring. For this reason, blockchain’s use in electronic voting has so far been limited to collecting ballot data. Currently, there are online voting service providers such as Voats that use the blockchain system to store voting data and personal information of voters in order to foster safety and privacy.

The implementation of Blockchain in elections still has its vulnerabilities and risks. If you want to track the vote back to the person that cast it, then an agreement must be made regarding the exchange of privacy. But if this identification is prohibited, then it may also make way for authorities to alter results. 

These vulnerabilities are one of the main reasons why blockchain systems and elections cannot be used together effectively. These issues can be seen in local elections, which may not have as broad of an effect as voting on a larger scale.

Trends in the future of Blockchain 

Blockchain is a technology that many experts believe will become something that could change the world, much like the internet. As a result, many big companies have chosen to invest in this technology, such as IBM, which has invested in more than 400 blockchain-related projects covering many industries including medical, insurance, transportation, as well as oil projects. This signals that there are many parties who trust and see the future of blockchain and its role in our lives in the near future.

How should we adapt to the emergence of Blockchain?

As consumers, we should keep up with the news and regularly update our knowledge on Blockchain Technology. One day when blockchain is developed to the point where it can be implemented in all facets of businesses in the digital world, creating a middleman-free model (which at this point is expected), you may need to understand what is going on and adjust accordingly. This will help you to be primed to make the most out of this opportunity and not fall victim to those wishing to use this technology to prey on the masses.

The disadvantages of Blockchain

The main disadvantage of Blockchain Technology is that it is not yet widely adopted. Since it is a technology that has not yet been fully developed, it will take time to create a blockchain that can be used in a comprehensive and efficient way in every business and industry. Therefore, if you are interested in doing business related to blockchain, we recommend that you study the technology and invest early during this period in order to become a leader in the field in the future. 

Moreover, Blockchain technology is not very accessible to everyone. Anyone that actually has access to it, has likely required funding. In the future, blockchain will likely become more accessible when this technology is developed to the point where it can be used in every industry and becomes widely applied.

Conclusion 

Blockchain is the technology of hope that many people see as something that will change our world into a world without intermediaries. A world that is more transparent and secure in terms of transactions. Blockchain will continue to develop and be applied in many industries whether it is a matter of collecting personal information, contracts, or agreements. It is very possible that in the future there will be new technologies based on blockchain that will become staples in all of our lives.