As we now know, Bitcoin blocks storage data on currency transactions are blocked. But Blockchain turns out to also be a reliable method to store data about other transactions.



Some businesses that integrate Blockchain already include Walmart, Pfizer, AIG, Siemens, Unilever, and many more. For example, IBM has set up the Food Trust blockchain1 to track food items' travel to their destinations.



Why do they do that? Numerous outbreaks of e-Coli, salmonella, listeria and dangerous materials unintentionally occurred in the food sector. In the past, the root of these epidemics or the causation of disease from what individuals consume has taken many weeks.



Blockchain enables businesses to trace the path of a food product from its origin through each stop and ultimately through its delivery. If a meal is discovered to be tainted, it may be traced back to its source throughout each stop. Not only that, but now these businesses can see everything else they may have in touch, enabling the issue to be identified sooner, which can save lives. This is one example in the practice of blockchains, although many more types of blockchain implementation are available.


 

Banking and financial services


Perhaps no sector would benefit from adopting Blockchain more than banking in its business processes. Financial institutions operate just five days a week during business hours. This means you will probably have to wait until Monday morning if you attempt to deposit a check on Friday at 6:00 p.m. to see the money enter your account. Even if you make a deposit during business hours, it may still take one to three days to validate the transaction owing to the enormous number of transactions that banks have to pay for. On the other hand, Blockchain never sleeps.



By incorporating Blockchain into banks, customers may observe how their transactions are completed in only ten minutes2 in principle, regardless of holidays or day or week time, as long as it takes to add a block to the Blockchain. With Blockchain, banks also have the chance to trade money more rapidly and securely across institutions. For example, in the stock trading industry, it may take up to three (or more, if internationally traded) days to settle and clear shares, meaning that money and shares remain refrigerated for that duration.



Due to the magnitude of the funds involved, the money may bear substantial expenses and hazards for banks even during the few days that the money is en route. The European Santander bank and its research partners put potential savings of 15 billion dollars at 20 billion dollars per year. 3 Capgemini, a French consulting firm, believes that customers may save up to $16 billion in banking and insurance charges using blockchain applications per year4.

 

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Currency

Blockchain is the foundation for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The U.S. dollar is regulated by the Fed. Under this system of central authorities, the data and money of the user are theoretically at the discretion of their bank or government. If the bank of a user is hacked, the private information of the customer is in danger. If the customer's bank fails or lives with an unstable government in a nation, its currency value may be at risk. In 2008, several banks that ran out of money were partly bailed out using taxpayers' money. These are the concerns that first conceptualized and produced Bitcoin.



Blockchain enables Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to function without a central authority by distributing activities over a network of computers. This not only lowers the risk but avoids considerable transaction costs and processing expenses. It may also provide more stable currencies with more uses and a broader network of people and organizations to those in nations with unstable currencies or financial infrastructures, both domestically and internationally.



The use of bitcoin wallets for savings accounts or payment for those with no state identity is essential. Some nations may be devastated by conflict or have administrations without genuine identification facilities. Citizens in such countries cannot access savings or brokerage accounts and thus have no means to keep money securely.


 

Healthcare

Health care providers may use Blockchain to securely keep the medical records of their patients. When a medical history is created and signed, it may be entered in the Blockchain, which shows patients that the form cannot be altered. These personal health data may be encoded and saved with a private key on the Blockchain so that only specific people can access them to guarantee confidentiality.


 

Property records


When you've ever spent time at your local Recorder Office, you'll know that it's onerous and inefficient to register property rights. Today a physical document must be sent to an official at the local recording office, where it is recorded manually in the central database and general index of the country. Claims for the property must be reconciled with the broad index in the event of a property dispute.



This procedure is not only expensive and time-consuming — but it is also full of human error when every mistake makes monitoring ownership of property less efficient. Blockchain can remove the requirement to scan papers and track physical files at a local recording office. If property ownership on the Blockchain is kept and confirmed, owners may rely on their deeds being recorded accurately and forever.


It may be almost difficult to establish ownership of a property in war-torn nations or zones with little to no government or financial infrastructure and definitely no "Recorder's office." If a group of persons in such a region can utilize blockchain, unambiguous and transparent ownership timeframes may be created.

 


Smart contracts


A smart contract is a computer code that may be integrated into the Blockchain to facilitate a contract, validate it or negotiate it. Intelligent agreements work on a set of terms to which users agree. The provisions of the agreement are automatically fulfilled if these criteria are fulfilled.



For example, a prospective renter wants to rent an apartment using an intelligent contract. Once the renter pays the deposit, the landlord accepts to provide the tenant the door code to the unit. Both the landlord and the tenant would submit their respective halves of the agreement to the intelligent contract to retain and automatically swap the security deposit door code when the lease begins. If the property manager fails to provide the door code by the lease date, the intelligent contract will reimburse the security deposit. This would remove costs and procedures usually associated with the employment of notaries, mediators, or prosecutors



Chains of supply

As in the IBM Food Trust example, suppliers may use Blockchain to record the provenance of the goods they have bought. That would enable businesses to check their goods' authenticity, along with popular labels such as 'organic,' 'local,' and 'fair trade.'



According to Forbes, the food sector uses Blockchain to follow the route and safety of food throughout the whole journey from farm to consumer.


 

Voting

 
Blockchain, as stated, may be utilized to assist a current voting system. Voting using Blockchain may eliminate electoral fraud and increase participation, as demonstrated in West Virginia in November 2018. Using Blockchain in this manner would prevent votes from being manipulated. Blockchain technology would also preserve openness in the electoral process, reduce staff required for elections, and provide immediate results to authorities. This would remove the necessity for reports or any genuine worry about the possibility of fraud.

 

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