Launched in 2009, blockchain technology initially gained widespread attention through Bitcoin. Limited to cryptocurrency, some may believe years down the road. Its applications go beyond just digital money; even businesses and individuals are looking into the broader potential of cryptocurrency.
By saving data in blocks, a blockchain forms a shared database. Cryptography makes these blocks unalterable after recording. Although primarily used as a financial ledger, a blockchain stores various data types.
How Does Blockchain Technology Function?
With its unchanging nature, blockchain technology offers secure storage and prevents data modification or deletion. With blockchain technology, historical accuracy and verification are guaranteed, ensuring complete confidence in transactions without tampering.
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Blockchain technology allows the public to trust, facilitating transparent transactions between parties who do not know each other. Furthermore, its decentralized nature means that no single party retains control and information can be shared without using intermediaries.
How Can Businesses And Individuals Make Money From Blockchain?
There are a variety of ways to use blockchain technology to generate income, offering solutions to customers’ pain points. The use of blockchain can bring untold benefits to a range of existing industries.
- Improvements to supply chains
Much as cryptocurrencies eliminate the need for intermediary parties in financial transactions, blockchain technology can be used to refine the supply chain process, removing middlemen and allowing parties to deal directly with each other. Blockchain technology creates identifying markers for data and each transaction in the process is verified, meaning that it cannot be tampered with or altered.
This transparency in the supply chain affords customers and collaborating companies far more trust in the process than ever before. This can strengthen relationships with a target market and foster more business.
- Streamlining financial processes
It is well documented that cryptocurrency is a useful alternative to traditional card payments, enabling individuals to cut down on transactional fees and receive and send money far more quickly. However, banks and financial organizations can also take advantage of blockchain technology and incorporate it into their operations.
Utilizing blockchains can lower a bank’s costs and improve speed and efficiency, ensuring that more transactions can be completed at a faster rate. Furthermore, the security offered by blockchain technology reduces the threat of cybercrime, safeguarding both their own and their customers’ assets.
Which Industries Can Benefit From Blockchain Technology?
While a vast range of industries can utilize the technology, there are some key sectors which could be transformed by the use of blockchain.
The Media Industry
Within the film, TV and music industries there have long been quarrels over ownership and rights to share and distribute content which has been well documented in the media and often results in lawsuits. The capability of blockchain technology to keep a record of IP addresses and track the chronology of the creation of content, providing a transparent audit open to public viewing.
In similar circumstances to supply chains and banking, removing intermediary parties which take significant cuts of musicians’ profits could transform the industry. Smart contracts can be created by blockchain technology and added to each song, stipulating exactly how money is distributed after each download.
The Healthcare Industry
The personal and sensitive data managed by the healthcare industry is always subject to risk from security breaches. Using blockchain can safeguard patients’ data, allowing them to be shared only with trustworthy parties. Furthermore, the secure nature of blockchain technology avoids the risk of human error associated with data management which can have detrimental consequences on a patient’s health.
The enormous potential of blockchain within healthcare cannot be underestimated. In 2019, a report by BIS Research predicted potential savings of $100bn per year by 2025 through the use of blockchain technology.
How Can Individuals Make Money From Blockchain?
Blockchain technology does not only offer opportunities to businesses; individuals can also make money from blockchain.
- Investing in cryptocurrency
Similar to the traditional stock marker, those who have a knack for investments should consider investing in cryptocurrency. It’s important to build a diverse portfolio and keep levels of risk to a minimum.
- Mining coins
The term mining refers to the process which generates new cryptocurrency coins. Miners use computer software to solve cryptographic problems and are subsequently rewarded with coins. There are varying levels of difficulty involved and it can be expensive to get started, requiring specific software and hardware, so it’s crucial to do adequate research before getting started with mining.
- Crypto staking
Investors looking to do things a little differently may wish to consider crypto staking; earning rewards from their crypto assets by not spending them. Keeping crypto assets locked up contributes to the security of the network and works much like traditional savings accounts which earn their holders interest.
It is evident that blockchain technology is rapidly becoming more widespread in the business world, opening up further opportunities for investment and the refinement of existing business practices. With both companies and customers looking for more trust in their transactions than ever before, blockchain technology is set to have a significant impact on many more aspects of daily life in the future.
