Smart contracts! But how smart?
Waxvapour Labs
We believe in peer-to-peer networks being the new norm of the future and are moving towards making web3 a reality.
Blockchain technology has come a long way since its inception when it comes to deployment, and with this is its rise in adoption. The concepts of this ledger-based technology have become increasingly popular and globally deployed with various utilities. One of these utilities is smart contracts.
What are smart contracts?
Smart contracts are self-executing digital contracts stored on a blockchain and can automatically execute via predefined terms and conditions when certain events/conditions occur.
They are-
In this blog, you will understand the uses, applications, and examples of these “smart” contracts. So let’s explore!
Applications of Smart Contracts
Real Estate
Smart contracts are used in the real estate industry to automate property transactions. If a buyer and a seller agree on the terms of a contract, a smart contract can automatically transfer the ownership of the property once the payment is received. This eliminates the need for intermediaries, such as lawyers, and reduces costs.
Voting
Smart contracts are used for secure and transparent voting. For instance, a smart contract can be created that ensures only eligible voters can cast their ballots and that each vote is recorded accurately and transparently. Potential frauds are eradicated and thus increase voter confidence.
Gaming
Widely applicable in the gaming industry to create transparent and fair games. Can be created to automatically distribute winnings to the winning player once the game is over.
Crowdfunding
In crowdfunding campaigns, a smart contract is created that sequentially releases funds into a project, and eventually, the project reaches a certain desired funding goal. This helps in ensuring that the funds are used as intended ones and that the backers receive the rewards they were promised.
Healthcare spaces
For the healthcare industry, It serves pivotal to ensure not just the security and privacy of patient data but efficient facilitation as well. Such a facility enables patients to control their health data and decide who can access it as per their choice. This property factors the risk of data breaches and ensures patients have more control over their healthcare information.
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Now if we were to look into various examples of smart contracts! We’d find the following platforms :
A decentralized prediction market utility for creating markets and making data-driven reports on the outcome of events. It executes the rules of each market, such as determining the winner of the market and distributing rewards to the correct users.
A blockchain-based platform that allows users to rent or share any object, such as a car or a bike, without the need for middlemen or third parties like that. It is supported by smart contracts that run the rental or sharing agreement, such as determining the rental period, the rental price, and the access to the object.
Used for creating and trading prediction markets, similar to Augur. Encompasses functions like determining the winner of the market and distributing rewards to the correct users. Gnosis supports a vast range of other decentralized applications that are powered by smart contracts, such as a decentralized exchange and a decentralized auction platform.
For ideating and publishing news material. Includes the distribution of rewards to journalists and editors based on the quality of their content. Civil aspires to curate a rather transparently vivid and decentralized news industry by using ledger-based technology to ensure the integrity of news content and to protect journalists from censorship.
In conclusion, smart contracts have a wide range of uses and applications across various industries, from supply chain management to healthcare to crowdfunding. They make a secure, transparent, and efficient way of automation processes possible and allow users to reduce transaction costs. However, it is important to thoroughly test and audit smart contracts before they are deployed, as they can be vulnerable to hacks and exploits if there are flaws in the code. With proper development and implementation, smart contracts have the potential to revolutionize the way we transact and exchange value.
Author: Shrey Kumar ?| Technical Writing Team | Waxvapour Labs