How will blockchain change the world? Almost everyone around us is sure that blockchain technology is here to change the world. In this article, we will explore the idea of blockchain’s impact on our world.
The idea of blockchain changing the world comes from the concept of decentralization. It’s the pseudo creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, who created the currency bitcoin that led to the discovery of blockchain technology. If you see the timeline, you will see that the decentralized cryptocurrency was created around the last global financial crisis, which gives this discovery much more importance.
In reality, the change has already begun. Many enterprise companies are already implementing their very own version of blockchain. However, no one can really predict the future of this tech. As we will explore how blockchain can change the world, you can discover the possible outcomes.
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How Will Blockchain Change the World?
Before we decide to answer the question at our disposal, we first need to understand the idea behind the blockchain.
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Centralization and Decentralization
If you are familiar with the current system, you will see centralization everywhere. Centralization is a tested way to deal with processes. It offers control with relatively effective and efficient means. However, it does come with a lot of disadvantages.
The main disadvantage is its ineffective approach. Centralization is generally not so friendly when it comes to efficiency. More so, the other obstacles include – no transparency, lack of proper security, and fraud detection. All of these are just too much to ignore now. With the advent of blockchain, everything changed. Blockchain technology could change the world as it can get rid of all the inefficiencies of centralized systems.
It brought decentralization into play. By using blockchain, any business improves its process to new heights. If you are part of any organization, then you would already know that it is not possible to manually control or monitor different aspects of the system. With decentralization, it becomes easy for businesses or enterprises to automate the different aspects of their processes.
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The Concept of Blockchain
Blockchain is defined as a peer-to-peer network that is distributed in nature. In a public blockchain, everyone can join and participate. To ensure that the blockchain maintains data integrity and fight fraud, each peer has a copy of the ledger. All of this brings decentralization into play. Yes, there is no need for a centralized entity for a blockchain network to work.
Blockchain’s trend was always there among businesses, but the adoption rate skyrocketed over the last few years. Blockchain will affect the economy and is already slowly starting to show the effects of the outcome. With an improved exposure to the benefits in general, businesses become more confident in adopting a decentralized approach, i.e., blockchain.
The distributed nature means that blockchain can run on the internet without the need to build another infrastructure for it. It is a global phenomenon, not only that it is open-source and utilizes state-of-the-art cryptography to ensure that the data stored in the ledger can only be accessible by the rightful parties.
Evolution of Centralized to Decentralized Database
Traditionally, data is stored within the relational database. You can think of them as an advanced excel spreadsheet where columns and rows are used to store data. More so, these tables are stored using a hard drive and then served according to the user’s demand. The data is stored in a centralized location. A centralized database suffers from performance when the number of requests has increased manifold.
To overcome the restrictions of the centralized database, more powerful computers and techniques are deployed to process requests faster. All of these can lead to databases to be more vulnerable to hackers. It also requires a huge infrastructure budget to run and manage. All of these seem to be a limitation for the businesses that are trying to find practical solutions to their product.
All of these will be changed by blockchain, which is technically a decentralized database. As there is no centralization, each node has a copy of the database, i.e., ledger. It enables businesses to improve their data redundancy to a whole new level.
Potentially, blockchain technology could change the world.
Characteristics of Blockchain Technology
Now that we understand the evolution from centralized systems to decentralized systems, and centralized to decentralized databases, let’s take a look at the five key characters of blockchain technology. These key aspects define blockchain technology the most.
- P2P Network: Blockchain technology is a peer-to-peer network where the already existing devices can participate and become part of the network. The P2P network also allows computers over a network to work together and offer combined computational power to the whole network.
- Cryptographic Hash Function: Another key feature of blockchain technology is the use of a new cryptographic hash function. The hash function takes an input and then outputs a value, which is then connected to the next hash function. It is a one-way function that makes it impossible for hackers to guess the value. It protects the information in the best possible way. Also, the hash function works for valid users who own the information or asset.
- Distributed Ledgers: The distributed ledger feature is one of the best features of blockchain. It enables peers to have a copy of the ledger. To make sure that they do not have to download the whole database, advanced techniques are used to ensure consensus is maintained within the network. It also enables peers to validate information quickly without the need to rely on a centralized authority. Moreover, it also ensures that no fraud takes place.
- Pseudonymity: The blockchain network also enables users to stay anonymous if they want to.
- Immutability: Lastly, the cryptographic hash feature, distributed ledger, and other features ensure that the data, once stored, cannot be changed without the original user’s permission.
The points clearly hint that blockchain will change the world.
Benefits of Blockchain Technology
All the above essential features are ground-breaking from a technical perspective, but what about people who are not technically adept at understanding its complexity? How are they benefitted? Also, when we say “changing the world,” we expect to change normal people’s lives. The below points will help you understand blockchain’s impact from a general perspective, and also it will affect the economy.
More so, you can also take the following points as blockchain real-world use cases. Let’s list the points below.
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Faster Transactions
It is a common activity for people to send money for both businesses and personal uses. Most of the services that facilitate payment take a few days to complete. This can lead to issues if you need to send money for an emergency.
The process takes more time if you are doing a foreign transition. Banks generally hold the payment for a few days before they use the SWIFT messaging system to transfer funds. This is done by banks due to strict rules around foreign money transfers. However, the wait time also increases more because of the other intermediaries.
The solution is blockchain. You can send money without the need to wait for days for the receiver to receive the payment. Banks are also eager to adopt digital tokens for a huge transfer amount of money. It generally helps them to do bank to bank settlements faster and securely. Therefore, blockchain technology could change the world by offering a faster transaction process.
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Better Land Registration
If you ever try to buy a house, you will have to go through a lot of steps. It is a tedious process that can easily take up to months. It also includes a lot of paperwork. On top of all of these, you also need to pay a lawyer’s fee. The process of buying a house depends on the place where you live. In some places, it can be much easier, but overall, it takes a lot of time and effort to buy one house.
The real estate market also suffers from the trust. It is easy to do frauds and create paperwork that is forged. To ensure trust, a lot of paperwork needs to be checked and managed by multiple entities, including government agencies, banks, and so on!
When it comes to blockchain, you do not have to deal with so many intermediaries. It is a trustless platform. This means that you know what you are doing and what you are getting into. You can verify the owner of a property before making the deal. The agreements are transparent and are tamper-proof. This makes everything work smoothly. It also means that you have to do very little paperwork, improving your purchasing experience to a whole new level.
In reality, it affects the real estate markets heavily, which is connected to the global economy. Therefore, blockchain can transform the global economy.
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Product Provenance
Blockchain works seamlessly with the supply chain. Any product that you buy needs to go through a series of destinations before it arrives at your doorstep. During its travel time, it can be open to multiple fraud entities that can tamper with the product for their own benefit.
If that happens, you will not get the product that you paid for. You might get a tampered product or a product that is completely replaced by a fraud one. In any case, it is easy to catch fraud items.
In reality, it’s a great way to offer product provenance and ensure that the consumers are getting the authentic product they are paying for.
Blockchain usage on the supply chain solves all of these problems. By using blockchain, companies can keep full track of the condition of the product. If the product is changed or tampered with, the system will get alerted and hence discard it from the supply chain. In the end, you will only get genuine products into your hand.
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Better Healthcare System
Health problems are very common in developing countries. It is quite common for people to go to doctors for treatment. Most of the time, you get transferred from one floor to another to find your doctor or healthcare specialist.
This also means working with documents that are not stored in a centralized space. Keeping a full medical record also becomes tough for patients as their medical records can span through years or multiple doctors with different treatment approaches. In short, it requires a lot of patience for patients to manage their health problems.
Blockchain can completely change how health problems are managed. It can enable medical record holding in a decentralized manner, which can be accessed by the patient’s authority.
More so, it will enable health practitioners to understand the patient’s case better and ensure that they can get treatment as soon as possible. It also makes diagnosis faster and more successful. Last but not least, blockchain also reduced the circulation of fraud drugs.
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Increase Business Efficiency
Blockchain also gives you more chances to earn. Big companies are slowly embracing blockchain and helping connect people as this technology can increase their business efficiency.
The general use-cases are a good example of how blockchain will change the world.
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When Will Blockchain Take Over?
Now that we have understood the benefits of blockchain, it is now time to reflect upon when blockchain will take over the world. The first sector that will see the change in the financial sector. The finance sector is going through major problems right now. It requires disruption to survive. Blockchain can be the perfect catalyst and solution that can provide the necessary means to solve the pains of the blockchain industry.
Blockchain changes how money flows through institutions or traded among traders. In fact, blockchain has the potential to change almost every industry out there. It can create a more efficient and prosperous world where people can connect with each other without the need for intermediaries.
Companies can also utilize blockchain technology to provide a more transparent, trustworthy, and efficient service to the consumer. For instance, a company can use a permissioned network to create an efficient system. They can also utilize it to keep transparency with the end-user by sharing information that can help create trust among users.
As for general users, they can also utilize the blockchain to its full potential. If you are a creator, you can connect with the buyers directly using a blockchain solution. At this moment, we can’t predict properly when exactly blockchain will take over, but we do know that the process has already started.
How Blockchain Will Change the Financial World?
The financial world will be completely changed with the help of the blockchain. Blockchain platforms can transform the global economy quite easily.
The Ethereum blockchain, for example, has the ability to automate, secure, and operate an efficient process in the finance and banking sector. It will also optimize cost and digitize securities and other assets without increasing the cost required to manage them.
The financial world can always benefit from the transparency, trust, privacy, scalability, and security that blockchain offers. For instance, the financial market can utilize programming capabilities and automate things such as KYC/AML, data privacy, and so on. It can also help streamline processes with improved efficiency.
Blockchain will succeed in changing the financial sector as it’s way more superior to the transactional model.
Some of the best blockchain use-cases in the financial world include the following.
- Investment management
- Lending and banking
- Insurance
- Trade finance
How Blockchain Will Change Real Estate?
Have you ever tried to buy a home recently? Then, you would know how much effort and time you need to complete a purchase. Any real estate transaction can take anywhere between a few weeks to months to complete. The reason behind the delay is the use of a less efficient all-together process.
The large scale of the real estate makes it very hard for buyers and sellers to coordinate and manage their properties.
With blockchain, real estate can see many changes, including bringing in a more efficient process with the help of automation. Other benefits include real-time payment settlements, reduced costs, tokenization, and real-time payment settlements. This is a massive boost that can help blockchain transform the global economy.
The biggest advantage is the reduced time it takes to make deals. With proper tokenization, real-world assets can be stored and traded on the blockchain. Tokenization also means that other kinds of information can be stored online, including real estate funds, governance rights, and more!
Few of the blockchain use-cases in real estate include the following:
- Deed records and Land titles
- Tokenization
- Leasing and payments
- Real-time accounting
- Tenant identity
Curious about blockchain’s impact on real estate? Check out our guide on blockchain for real estate right now!
How Blockchain Will Change HealthCare?
The last sector that we are going to discuss is the HealthCare. Right now, healthcare can also benefit from the blockchain. There are many pain points in the healthcare industry. For example, patients have always had to carry their documents with them. This can lead to issues including wrong data input.
Another thing that needs to be fixed is drug traceability. With no proper traceability, drugs can be counterfeited easily. Research is also hampered, considering that patients’ data is not accessible for the most part.
Few of the blockchain use-cases in healthcare include the following:
- Drug traceability
- Patient consent management
- Electronic Health Records(EHRs)
- Better clinical trials
Curious about blockchain’s impact on healthcare? Check out our guide on blockchain in healthcare right now!
Will Blockchain Succeed?
The path of making blockchain global and reaching everyone around the world is not easy. Blockchain seems promising, just like any other new technology out there. When the internet came along, it caused ripples and hailed as the single most revolutionary technology out there. It did change how we connect, but it took its own time to evolve and improve.
Artificial Intelligence was also hailed as the next-generation technology that can change the world. My point is that almost every new technology shows promise as they are better than the previous ones in one way or another. Only time can tell how blockchain will impact society. For now, everyone is on the same page. But, one thing is for sure is that blockchain is very promising and has the potential to change the world around us.
However, what things can go wrong with the overall bright vision for blockchain technology? One of the biggest hurdles that need to be taken care of is governance. As blockchain is decentralized, governing it can be a very tricky situation. As it is currently in a growth stage, it can be used for mischievous or harmful things. The main focus should be to create a governing body that can dictate safe rules and regulations for using blockchain technology. This way, we can ensure that blockchain technology is used in the right way.
W3C Consortium takes care of the internet. They are responsible for setting the web standard.
So, it is very hard to say what direction blockchain will take firmly. Its impacts have already been seen in many use-cases that we discussed above, but the adoption rates are still struggling.
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Conclusion
If you think that blockchain cannot change the world, then you are not alone. There are many experts who think blockchain is not enough to alter the course of actions of this world. However, recent findings do predict that blockchain will succeed in doing so.
As you can see the impact of blockchain technology, now you can know just how blockchain can change the world. We also managed to envision its impact on the future of our society. If you are just a novice who is just starting with blockchain technology but want to learn more about it, you need to check out our free blockchain course. Use blockchain to change the world and your business now!
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*Disclaimer: The article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide any investment advice. Claims made in this article do not constitute investment advice and should not be taken as such. 101 Blockchains shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this article. Do your own research!
1 Comment
Brilliant Post!
Thank you, for an informative explanation and perspective.
I was going through some articles which would give me information about blockchain, this article was so much helpful to me in understanding how can blockchain Change the world, Cheers !!,
Keep up posting such great content.