Top Blockchain Use Cases. It’s not all about crypto.
While much has been discussed about blockchain technology and its role in the financial sector, its value extends far beyond the financial market and industry. Blockchain usage is expanding every day. Today, even industries like music are reaping the benefits of blockchain to improve their existing businesses.
For example, a few years ago Spotify acquired blockchain startup Mediachain to develop a blockchain-based decentralized solution by providing artists with licensing agreements, making the entire process more streamlined, faster and cheaper.
The technology also has the potential to solve many problems in industries such as healthcare, supply chains, logistics and data security. But there are still some challenges that need to be solved before blockchain can grow further, and people still need to grasp the potential of this technology, regional experts claim.
“Blockchain technology is effectively used in two ways: to protect people from the dangers of newer technologies and to make operational processes more efficient and enable new revenue generation models,” Bosnian entrepreneur and blockchain expert Vedad Mesanovic explains.
So what is an example of the dangers of newer technologies? The development or implementation of new AI-powered editing tools will be used in the future to spread misinformation and inspire misunderstanding and fear, he says.
Can Blockchain Stop the Disinformation Plague?
“For example, a deepfake is a video, image or audio file of a specific person whose face or body has been digitally modified to make them sound or look like someone else. This modern age-shifting technique can be used to effectively manipulate the public , influence political campaigns, encourage marketing fraud, etc. In this case, blockchain-based verification solutions can be used to prevent such threats, benefiting various industries such as media, law enforcement and security. In particular, video evidence can be time-stamped and signed, protecting it from being altered or forged and prove its authenticity, Mesanovic tells The Recursive.
Buy and sell properties with tokens
Next, blockchain use cases extend to the real estate industry, which is an example when it comes to streamlining operational processes and enabling new revenue generation models.
In addition to increasing operational transparency and accountability, blockchain technology will enable real estate companies to start selling properties to more customers through tokenization and other forms of digital commerce, Mesanovic adds.
“Considering all the value of blockchain technology, other industries that can significantly benefit from blockchain technology are supply chains, identity management, security, banking and finance, mobility, etc. All these industries need better solutions to collect, store, track and manage their data,” he tells The Recursive.
Reduce costs for healthcare services
It’s also a big one potential for blockchain use cases for industries such as healthcare, points out North Macedonia-based expert Eva Jovanova.
“Healthcare is the industry that governments around the world spend some of the highest proportions of their GDP on. When used sensibly, blockchain can cut costs by cutting out several actors in the entire process. First, keeping health records on the blockchain makes it easier for different healthcare professionals to get the data faster and more efficiently. In more complex cases, faster diagnostics can be life-saving. Second, storing health data, such as prescriptions, on the blockchain makes the submission and administration of prescriptions efficient and less prone to abuse – something that has been the case in recent decades, especially in the US with the opioid crisis, says Jovanova, analyst. for the Swiss blockchain data and intelligence platform Glassnode, says The Recursive.
Mesanovic is looking for it, and points out that blockchain-based management of data will be a game-changer for the healthcare sector.
“Improving health standards in many countries depends on effective collaboration and the sharing of accurate data. All the segments of blockchain technology – from cryptographic keys and smart contracts to distributed data and transparency – will create an effective solution for integrity, security and sharing of health information,” he emphasizes.
For blockchain architect and NEAR Balkan advisor Edi Sinovcic, while there is potential in many industries, including healthcare, one must also bear in mind the restrictive regulations in these so-called “old industries”.
“Old industries such as healthcare will take much more time as the regulation there is quite strict and difficult to handle. Insurance has great potential as blockchains can provide a level of transparency while improving efficiency (resulting in lower operating costs). Overall, we are truly entering the era of blockchain technology as world computers on a scale that has never been seen before,” Sinovcic told The Recursive.
Dangerous tool in the hands of autocrats?
According to Croatia-based Sinovcic, the use of blockchain will also improve globalization efforts which have unfortunately hit a roadblock with events such as COVID or the war in Ukraine.
“In 5 years blockchain will be all around us and we won’t even think about it as something big, the same way we use the internet every day but don’t think about where it is or how it works,” he tells The Recursive .
Then there is also the potential of “zero knowledge” technology.
“It’s another major breakthrough in so-called ‘zero-knowledge technology’. This technology changes the entire paradigm as it brings privacy features to public blockchains! Currently, everything we do on blockchains can be tracked by anyone who owns a web browser, and this technology will remove this problem, as it will give us real privacy, Sinovcic explains.
For Jovanova, while there are the obvious benefits, there are also dangers that can come with those who use the technology.
“If blockchain technology is used in an ethical way, all industries can reap its benefits. If it is used by an authoritarian government, however, it can be a dangerous tool,” she emphasizes, adding that this can be felt, for example, in industries such as insurance.
“The situation is more difficult when it comes to insurance. Depending on who has access to the health data, insurance premiums can increase in cases where insurers have real-time access to more health data, making healthcare more expensive for patients. This is where the role of authorities and regulators should come into play and ensure a fairer, less exploitative use of blockchain technology for the benefit of patients, Jovanova tells The Recursive.
According to Mesanovic, with all these examples, when it comes to blockchain technology and its mainstream adoption, people shouldn’t just talk about, say, Bitcoin, Ethereum, bear and bull markets. They need to brainstorm and discuss improved blockchain use cases that contribute to security, transparency, auditability, traceability, cost reduction and efficiency.
“Blockchain technology has the potential to fundamentally change how we do business, run organizations and manage our lives. But what are the steps to make mainstream adoption happen and address specific issues related to blockchain technology and digital assets in general? Education, education, education and then everything else, concludes Mesanovic.
