Re-architecting Trust with The Blockchain

Blockchain technology has been around for over a decade and has been mostly used for cryptocurrency transactions, but it has great potential for a wider range of business activities.

Despite this potential, the tech hasn’t quite taken off across the business sector as many thought it might. Among the multiple reasons are trust issues, which is interesting considering that blockchain tech can be even more secure that the currently preferred alternatives.

Let’s look closer at how it works, the potential business applications and how we can re-architect trust in the blockchain.

How it Works

Blockchain technology is a distributed database used like a digital ledger to record transactions and other valuable data. The data is shared across a computer network and can be accessed and viewed, though not edited or amended, by unauthorized parties. This is not entirely new, but how the blockchain retains the integrity of the data entered is.

The technology receives information such as a?cryptocurrency transaction ?between two parties and stores that information in a block. The blocks have a specific storage capacity and close once it is reached. It then links to the previous block – forming a chain of data – and a new block opens ready to receive the next batch of information. Once the blocks are closed and linked, the information in them cannot be edited or changed in any way.

The chain of data thus becomes a timeline of reliable information.

Potential Blockchain Applications

Businesses make transactions all the time, so the blockchain’s original cryptocurrency transaction purpose makes it ideal for B2B. Even individual banking could benefit as the blockchain’s information is available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Blockchain tech can do away with weekend lulls and waiting two to five business days.

A public blockchain is also an open source, and thus greatly reduces the amount of reconciliation required that standard transactions require. It is also not just cash or crypto financial transactions that can benefit from blockchain technology.

The huge amount of paperwork involved in property transactions could also be streamlined and made more transparent through the tech. It would make it easier to identify fraud and the likes of errors in public records, ultimately making the process of purchasing a property much quicker, easier and safer.

Trusting the Blockchain

The business sector’s blockchain trust issues are double-pronged, with one part being a distrust of unknown?blockchain users , and the second part being a lack of faith in the competency of the people behind the software. The first issue can be overcome by simply using a private blockchain, where there are no unknown users. The second issue is a little trickier and may take some time before it is fully resolved.

For the technology to be trusted by more businesses, the software and the developers behind each blockchain must be completely reliable. The main way to achieve this is through regulation, which will need to be implemented by those with the expertise to understand the complex inner workings of the technology.

If you are interested in the blockchain and how your organization could benefit from it, please call our team at?+1 800 974 7219 ext. 202. Alternatively, complete our?online form here ?and a member of our team will be in contact with you.