Blockchain promises to disrupt a vast array of industries — from finance to supply chain to real estate to gambling. By executing smart contracts and developing decentralized applications (dapps or dApps) companies and individuals can circumvent the time and expense associated with engaging with third parties to accomplish routine business transactions.
Blockchain was originally intended to be used for payments. It is, in many ways, more efficient and globally accessible than traditional third-party payment providers. Additionally, industries that rely on efficient and secure mechanisms of data ownership and control are exploring cutting-edge solutions facilitated by the blockchain.
Here are some of the emerging blockchain use cases for individuals, enterprises, institutions, and governments:
Capital Markets
Blockchain makes it easier, cheaper, and faster to access capital reducing the barriers to issuance and enabling peer-to-peer trading. It offers faster and more transparent settlement and clearing, reduced costs, decreased counterparty risks, and streamlined auditing and compliance.
Digital Identity
A blockchain-based digital identity system provides a unified, interoperable, and tamper-proof infrastructure with key benefits to users, businesses, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Blockchain provides the backbone for these systems, protecting against theft and providing individuals greater sovereignty over their personal data.
Supply Chain Management
Global supply chains are inefficient, poorly tracked, and often exploitative. Blockchain can improve these conditions by facilitating accurate asset tracking, enhanced licensing of products and services, and transparency into the provenance of goods. Goods can be tracked from the source to the point of consumption.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is the shift from traditional, centralized financial systems to peer-to-peer (P2P) finance enabled by dApps built on the blockchain. This new economic system is setting new standards for financial access and opportunity.
Healthcare and the Life Sciences
Healthcare solutions built on the blockchain enable faster, more efficient, and more secure medical data management and medical supply tracking. This could improve patient care, facilitate the advancement of medical discoveries, and ensure the authenticity of medicine circulating the global medical markets.
The aforementioned are just a few of the emerging use cases of blockchain technology. As the technology matures and adoption accelerates, the number of use cases will continue to grow by leaps and bounds.
