Several industries like Unilever, Walmart, Visa, etc. use blockchain technology and have gained benefits in transparency, security, and traceability. Considering the benefits blockchain offers, it will revolutionize and redefine many sectors.
Here are the top 5 prominent industries that will be disrupted by blockchain technology in the near future:
- Banking
- Cyber Security
- Supply Chain Management
- Healthcare
- Government
1. Banking
Before Blockchain
Banking has transfer fees, which can be both expensive and time-consuming for people. Also, sending money overseas becomes even more difficult due to the exchange rate and other hidden costs.
After Blockchain
Blockchain eliminates the need for a middleman. Blockchain is disrupting the banking system by providing a peer-to-peer payment system with the highest security and low fees.
- Blockchain technology provides instant and borderless payments across the globe
- Cryptocurrencies (like Ethereum, bitcoin) remove the requirement for a third party to perform transactions
- Blockchain records all the transactions in a public ledger which is globally accessible by bitcoin users
Let’s consider an example of ABRA
- Abra is a financial cryptocurrency application which helps in performing peer-to-peer money transfers
- With this application, cryptocurrency users can save, send and receive their digital money on their electronic devices
2. Cyber Security
Before Blockchain
Earlier, cyberattacks were a significant threat to the public. Several organizations were developing an effective solution to secure the data against unauthorized access and tampering.
After Blockchain
- Blockchain quickly identifies malicious attack due to the peer-to-peer connections where data cannot be tampered with
- Every single piece of data stored on the blockchain network is verified and encrypted using a cryptographic algorithm
- By eliminating the centralized system, blockchain provides a transparent and secure way of recording transactions (without disclosing your private information to anyone)
For example, a software security company called Guardtime offers blockchain-based products and services.
Rather than following the centralized system, the company utilizes blockchain technology and distributes data to its nodes.
3. Supply Chain Management
Before Blockchain
Due to the lack of transparency, supply chain management often had its challenges like service redundancy, lack of coordination between various departments, and lack of reliability.
After Blockchain
Tracking of a product can be done with blockchain technology, by facilitating traceability across the entire Supply chain.
Blockchain gives the facility to verify and audit transactions by multiple supply chain partners involved in the supply chain management system.
- Blockchain records transaction (history, timestamp, date, etc.) of a product in a decentralized distributed ledger
- Each transaction is recorded into a block
- With blockchain, anyone can verify the authenticity or status of a product being delivered
Let’s consider an example of the Pacific Tuna project.
Here, blockchain supply chain management provides a step-by-step verification process to track tuna fish. The process results in preventing illegal fishing.
4. Healthcare
Before Blockchain
In the healthcare system, patients can connect to other hospitals and collect their medical data immediately. Apart from the delay, there are high data corruption chances since the information is stored in a physical memory system.
After Blockchain
- Blockchain removes a central authority, which results in instant access to data
- Here, each block is linked to another block and distributed across the computer node. This becomes difficult for a hacker to corrupt the data
For example, United Healthcare is an American healthcare company that has enhanced its privacy, security, and medical records’ interoperability using Blockchain.
5. Government
Before Blockchain
Rigged votes is an illegal activity that occurs during most traditional voting systems. Also, citizens who want to vote to wait a little longer in a queue and cast their votes to a local authority, which is a very time-consuming process.
After Blockchain
- Voters are allowed to vote without the need of disclosing their identity in public
- The votes are counted with high accuracy by the officials knowing that each ID can be attributed to just one vote
- As soon the vote is added to the public ledger, the information can never be erased
Consider an example of MiVote
- MiVote is a token-based blockchain platform that is similar to a digital ballot box
- Using MiVote, through a smartphone, voters can cast their votes, where the records are stored in the blockchain securely
