Applications of blockchain

Blockchain is set to disrupt multiple sectors ranging from banking to healthcare. Let’s look at some of the key industries where blockchain can find its application and make a significant impact:

Banking and financial industry

The current financial system as it stands today requires intermediaries such as banks, to help us make transactions. Banks maintain and regularly update ledgers whenever transactions are made. Blockchain technology does the same thing minus the intermediaries. It allows all the members of the blockchain network to update the ledger in a decentralized manner. In fact, banking sector has already started using this technology, some of the applications include:

• Ripple, is a blockchain application that offers cross-border transactions for transferring funds between banks. Ripplehas partnered with many major banks around the world including SBI Holdings Ltd, Santander, and MoneyGram. It has not only enabled cross-border payments, but also significantly reduced the cost of transactions, encouraging many banks to consider implementing Ripple into their system.
• Blockchain can also help banks overcome the challenge of customer identity verification to prevent fraud. All parties involved in transaction over the blockchain have to be present over the blockchain ledger. Some of the projects working on this identity compliance includes Cambridge blockchain and
  R3.

Healthcare industry

One of the major challenges facing the healthcare industry is to securely store and share large amount of medical records and data. Implementing blockchain technology would enable storing data safely while allowing faster and easy access anytime anywhere. The technology has tremendous potential to improve quality of research and drug development. Some healthcare blockchain projects include MedicalChain and MedRec.

Transportation industry

Blockchain can help streamline vehicle registration process. Right from the date of vehicle manufacture to the day it was crushed in a junk yard, every piece of information, ranging from ownership to modifications, can be stored on blockchain. CarVertical is one of those blockchain applications that offers decentralized solution for storage and verification of authenticity of car information.

Content distribution

In a current content distribution model, content creators have to rely on a third-party service to host content and get paid. For instance, many users earn a living by creating content for YouTube and rely on them to get paid, in the bargain some content creators may not get rightful share of the profit. But, with blockchain, content creators can get paid directly by the viewers through cryptocurrencies, without relying on any third-party service. Steemit, Tron and Flixxoare few such blockchain applications.

These are but a few applications of blockchain. The technology promises to eliminate the need for intermediaries and empower users to manage transactions and information directly. As the technology continues to develop, refine and find newer applications, we will see greater integration across sectors. And to understand its growing popularity and various applications, coming up next is ‘Types of Blockchain’. Stay tuned!