Linking Blockchain To The Real World

Even after a decade since the creation of blockchain, it’s hard for people to differentiate it from cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is to the blockchain, what self-driving capability (of a car) is to AI; merely an application of technology.

Blockchain is not a business, but a technology. And like any other technology, it is profitable for those who use it efficiently and appropriately.

If you look at the numbers, interest in this industry would appear to be uncertain during the past year due to fluctuations in the crypto market. But the truth is cryptoprojects have raised 21.5 billion dollars globally in 2018 (according to CoinSchedule). But 80% of the projects collapsed. These are not necessarily projects which use blockchain tech appropriately. Also, not all blockchain projects go for an ICO (or STO or IEO). But it does remind you of the dot‐com bubble when 90% of the projects had collapsed. However, that era also gave us Amazon, Facebook, Google, etc.

Blockchain is penetrating every industry. Specifically transaction based industries.

Use cases for blockchain generally fall in one of three roles – a ledger to exchange financial value, an information ledger, or a notary ledger for public services. Experts predict significant commercial adoption of the information and notary ledgers – for purposes such as digitizing trade documents and land records. Traction in the value ledger may however take longer.

It has been about experimentation on blockchain till now. But experimentation is now being replaced by commercial adoption (quickly). And these are the signals that we should concern ourselves with.

What are the signals that blockchain is here to stay?

1. Nasdaq, IBM, Hitachi and other large corporations are exploring the capabilities of distributed ledgers for their business purposes.
2. Increase in ‘Blockchain as a Service’ providers. For example, IBM came out with Hyperledger Fabric, an open source blockchain framework that is designed to help you create a blockchain for your business network, with paid options also available. Other companies offering products include Oracle and Microsoft.
3. Citi and Credit Agricole banks have acquired a stake in the SETL blockchain startup which works under support for calculations based on distributed technology. Large institutional investor Digital Currency Group participates in Revelator startup, which manages digital copyrights. Shell bought Applied Blockchain to use it in its own business.
4. Forbes American experts believe that in the next decade, 10% of global gross domestic product may be generated on blockchain platforms.
5. Amazon Web Services (AWS) entered into blockchain technology market by introducing AWS Blockchain template. These templates are the first step in AWS’s entry into the blockchain market, with the goal of creating applications more efficiently and rapidly.
6. Microsoft is presenting existing end-to-end solutions using blockchain for storing and sharing product transaction and checkpoint status during the manufacturing process and along the supply chain in a single fixed ledger.
7. Businesses outside of the financial industry have been particularly interested in leveraging the tracking capabilities afforded by blockchain technology. A partnership by IBM, Nestle, and Unilever resulted in the development of blockchain to improve the traceability of contaminated food.
8. Blockchain also shows promise in health and pharmaceuticals. IBM and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have partnered on building a scalable health data exchange using blockchain, with the aim of addressing a lack of transparency in health data and improving trust on patient privacy.
9. Logistics giant DHL meanwhile is currently working with Accenture to develop a blockchain-based track-and-trace serialization system in six areas around the world.
10. A Deloitte survey found that 84 percent of respondents now view blockchain systems as more secure than systems built using conventional technologies.

There is particular interest in Blockchain as a single source of truth, tokenization, smart contracts, and automation capabilities.

Blockchain adoption will also spur growth in adjacent technologies such as Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things.

In my opinion, if decentralization of trust or setting up a secure and shared ledger is of any concern to your organization – you need to get started on blockchain tech today.

“The old question “Is it in the database?” will be replaced by “Is it on the blockchain?” 

– William Mougayar, Author, The Business Blockchain, Investor, Analyst, Blockchain Theorist, and Strategist.