Exploring the Benefits of Blockchain Technology Beyond Cryptocurrencies

Category Business

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Blockchain technology is a reliable, decentralized system for many industries beyond cryptocurrencies. It was proved to have useful applications in supply chains, banking and finance, health care, and property records. These solutions offer improved trust, security and transparency in their respective fields.


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People hear a lot about blockchain technology in relation to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, which rely on blockchain systems to keep records of financial transactions between people and businesses. But a crash in public trust in cryptocurrencies like TerraUSD – and therefore a massive drop in their market value – doesn’t mean their underlying technology is also worthless.

In fact, there are plenty of other uses for this type of system, which does not rely on centralized storage and where many people can participate securely, even if they don’t all know each other.

IBM's Food Trust uses a blockchain system to track food items from the field to retailers

As a computer scientist exploring new technologies for future smart communication network technologies, I, along with many engineers and developers, have shown that blockchain technology is a promising solution to many challenging problems in trust and security of next-generation network-based applications. I see several ways blockchains are proving themselves useful that aren’t tied to cryptocurrency.

Blockchain technology enables a decentralized system for access control of medical records

Supply chains .

Modern global supply chains require a huge amount of information for the massive number of products being shipped around the world. They suffer from limits on data storage capacity, inefficient paper processes, disjointed data systems and incompatible data formats. These traditional centralized data storage methods cannot efficiently trace the origin of problems, like where a poor-quality product came from.

Blockchains provide consumers with the convenience of monitoring their transactions in real-time

Storing information on a blockchain improves integrity, accountability and traceability. For example, IBM’s Food Trust uses a blockchain system to track food items from the field to retailers. The participants in the food supply chain record transactions in the shared blockchain, which simplifies keeping track.

Health care .

Data ownership and privacy are top concerns in the health care industry. Current centralized systems cannot meet all the diverse needs of patients, health service providers, insurance companies and governmental agencies. Blockchain technology enables a decentralized system for access control of medical records where all stakeholders’ interests are protected.

Blockchain solutions offer an efficient and secure way to register and transfer properties

Blockchain systems not only allow health care service providers to securely share patients’ medical records but also enable patients to track who has accessed their records and determine who is authorized to do so.

Banking and finance .

Banking and finance benefit from integrating blockchain networks into their business operations. Instead of trying to develop cryptocurrencies with new or different capabilities, the financial sector has recognized that blockchain systems are a reliable way to store information about traditional currencies like the dollar, euro and yen, as well as financial products.

Blockchain systems allow health care service providers to securely share patients’ medical records

Blockchains provide consumers with the convenience of being able to monitor their transactions as they are processed, almost in real time from anywhere. Banks also benefit from blockchains, with the opportunity to conduct business between institutions more efficiently and securely.

Property records .

Today’s manual process of recording property rights is burdensome and inefficient. Traditional paper documentation is time-consuming, labor intensive, not transparent an suffers from violations of privacy. However, blockchain solutions offer an efficient and secure way to register and transfer properties. They replace a centralized registry with a distributed, immutable and transparent ledger that can be updated in near real time.

Banking and Finance benefit from integrating blockchain networks into business operations

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