Explores the many applications of blockchain technology

As the world evolves digitally, blockchain technology has been seen for its seemingly limitless potential applications and real-world uses. This technology has been leveraged to tighten security networks and is already implemented in many business areas.

During the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Tech Forward series, moderator Hilary Crow, Vice President of Programs at the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation, sat down with Jerry Cuomo, Vice President of Blockchain Technologies at IBM, to break down the blockchain. Together they looked at the impact and importance of blockchain technology in a digital future and discussed the latest trends in the industry.

Define Blockchain and understand its many uses

Cuomo gave his definition of blockchain — a shared database or ledger where information is stored electronically — noting that it’s more than just cryptocurrency and NFTs.

“It’s not just one blockchain,” Cuomo said. “There are different ways to use blockchain for different applications. … You wouldn’t be wrong to associate blockchain with Bitcoin because that’s certainly one use, but you’d miss the other 999 uses.”

He explained how blockchain has more uses than most people realize, including potential uses ranging from healthcare to trusted identity to food safety.

“[Businesses in multiple industries are] using the same underlying blockchain technology to implement the secure, shared ledger where you can actually trace origins without fear that the data has been accidentally or maliciously tampered with – providing a platform for trusted computing,” Cuomo explained .

“If there are a thousand applications for blockchain, cryptocurrency and Bitcoin are just one,” Cuomo said. “You wouldn’t be wrong to think of blockchain as a type of database, but you wouldn’t be one hundred percent right [either].”

Increase digital security using Blockchain’s cryptography

On the blockchain, information can only be added – nothing can be deleted or changed. Cuomo highlighted how this affects the security of the blockchain, making it so that information is stored securely without many risks.

“Unlike a database where the administrator can change records in the ledger … this is not so in a blockchain,” Cuomo said. “Once the group agrees that this is a valid transaction, the blockchain is merely appended.”

This extra level of security means that information can remain secure while on the blockchain, as it can never be decrypted. However, the information is still available – it’s just a matter of how it’s used.

“You can only write to a blockchain,” Cuomo said “You can’t delete, [and] you cannot update records. When that block is ready to be committed, it is cryptographically secured with other blocks in the ledger. This is the notion of a block forming a chain. This immutability is a very big deal because it creates what you would call an audit log [where] you can go back in time and look at the origin of the data where it came from.”

Blockchain can benefit both large and small businesses

While many larger companies are currently using blockchain technology, it is not limited to only them – small businesses can effectively implement blockchain technology as well.

“It’s not just for big companies,” Cuomo said. “It’s all on a very broad scale. It’s explicitly creating digital assets, and from an SMB perspective, look at what Nike and Kellogg’s and more companies are doing around NFTs to build customer loyalty.”

Cuomo went on to describe a possible application of blockchain technology that small businesses could benefit from.

“Think, in this new digital world, what are the digital assets that build customer loyalty?” Cuomo asked. “We all know loyalty points – the problem with loyalty points is that they work with closed ecosystems. The nice part about NFTs is that it’s a much more open ecosystem…. by participating in an open NFT you can now build loyalty perhaps across ecosystems.”