Category: 5. Advantages

Perhaps the most profound facet of blockchain and Bitcoin is the ability for anyone, regardless of ethnicity, gender, or cultural background, to use it. According to The World Bank, nearly two billion adults do not have bank accounts or any means of storing their money or wealth.⁶ Nearly all of these individuals live in developing countries, where the economy is in its infancy and entirely dependent on cash. 

These people often earn a little money that is paid in physical cash. They then need to store this physical cash in hidden locations in their homes or other places of living, leaving them subject to robbery or unnecessary violence. Keys to a bitcoin wallet can be stored on a piece of paper, a cheap cell phone, or even memorized if necessary. For most people, it is likely that these options are more easily hidden than a small pile of cash under a mattress. 

Blockchains of the future are also looking for solutions to not only be a unit of account for wealth storage but also to store medical records, property rights, and a variety of other legal contracts.

Once a transaction is recorded, its authenticity must be verified by the blockchain network. Thousands of computers on the blockchain rush to confirm that the details of the purchase are correct. After a computer has validated the transaction, it is added to the blockchain block. Each block on the blockchain contains its own unique hash, along with the unique hash of the block before it. When the information on a block is edited in any way, that block’s hash code changes—however, the hash code on the block after it would not. This discrepancy makes it extremely difficult for information on the blockchain to be changed without notice.

Many blockchain networks operate as public databases, meaning that anyone with an Internet connection can view a list of the network’s transaction history. Although users can access details about transactions, they cannot access identifying information about the users making those transactions. It is a common misperception that blockchain networks like bitcoin are anonymous, when in fact they are only confidential.

When a user makes a public transaction, their unique code—called a public key, as mentioned earlier—is recorded on the blockchain. Their personal information is not. If a person has made a Bitcoin purchase on an exchange that requires identification, then the person’s identity is still linked to their blockchain address—but a transaction, even when tied to a person’s name, does not reveal any personal information.

Blockchain does not store any of its information in a central location. Instead, the blockchain is copied and spread across a network of computers. Whenever a new block is added to the blockchain, every computer on the network updates its blockchain to reflect the change. By spreading that information across a network, rather than storing it in one central database, blockchain becomes more difficult to tamper with. If a copy of the blockchain fell into the hands of a hacker, only a single copy of the information, rather than the entire network, would be compromised.

Typically, consumers pay a bank to verify a transaction, a notary to sign a document, or a minister to perform a marriage. Blockchain eliminates the need for third-party verification—and, with it, their associated costs. For example, business owners incur a small fee whenever they accept payments using credit cards, because banks and payment-processing companies have to process those transactions. Bitcoin, on the other hand, does not have a central authority and has limited transaction fees.

Transactions on the blockchain network are approved by a network of thousands of computers. This removes almost all human involvement in the verification process, resulting in less human error and an accurate record of information. Even if a computer on the network were to make a computational mistake, the error would only be made to one copy of the blockchain. For that error to spread to the rest of the blockchain, it would need to be made by at least 51% of the network’s computers—a near impossibility for a large and growing network the size of Bitcoin’s.

Blockchain technology can be employed in tracking energy expenses in your establishment. Typically, renewable energy usage is monitored with tradable certificates, whose efficiency has been a little disappointing. Blockchain solutions can breathe a new level of effectiveness in this task.

These are just 10 of the benefits Blockchain technology can bring to your business. There are countless other examples, with more being discovered or innovated every single day.

If there is a problem in the supply chain, Blockchain solutions can help you track its point of origin. You can then execute the required actions to prevent downtime in your business. 

Even though the Blockchain’s biggest selling point is its potential for security and privacy, it also has greater transparency in business operations as well. From contracts to financial transfers and accounting, everything is done on a central platform, leaving a clear audit trail.

In the supply chain, Blockchain solutions reduce costs and make it easier to track the movement of goods. This creates transparency in the ecosystem and simplifies payments and other transactions.