by Founder of DLT Laboratoriespioneered enterprise blockchain solutions through the development and integration of distributed application architecture.
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We see the stories every day. Feds charge 21 people in global seizure of crypto money laundering. Not only did FTX file for bankruptcy, but the hackers allegedly stole customer assets. Cryptocurrency investors lost over $2 trillion last year.
Given these headlines, one could be forgiven for viewing cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency trading in a negative light. Furthermore, the sheer amount of energy required for bitcoin mining may also raise skepticism, given the very real impact of climate change. But it should be remembered that cryptocurrency only represents a small subset of distributed ledger technology (DLT). As such, people, companies and governments alike must be extremely careful not to dismiss the vast potential that blockchain offers humanity as a whole.
What is Blockchain?
In its most basic form, blockchain is about how digital and real assets are moved from one person or place to another without the need for an intrusive and expensive third party to facilitate the process. While the creation of distributed ledger technologies that make blockchain work was first applied to the movement of money, giving rise to cryptocurrency, blockchain can be used for any asset by creating a digital replica of a real object and performing the required action in time. real.
How Blockchain benefits society
The world has already heavily benefited from the power and elegance of blockchain. For example, at the height of the pandemic, with millions of people in desperate need of effective Covid-19 vaccines, our company created an intelligent vaccine tracking system using blockchain to ensure frictionless distribution of life-saving immunizations around the world. under extreme temperature control. This not only ensured that vaccines reached the people who needed them around the world in record time, but also reduced the costs that governments had to pay pharmaceutical companies to buy them, as the blockchain tracking system helped to limit the number of spoiled vaccines that had to be thrown away. due to exposure to extreme heat or cold.
Consumers have also benefited from enterprise blockchain, as it helps companies streamline processes and operations, efficiencies that end up being passed on to consumers. One of the biggest challenges stemming from the pandemic has been disrupted supply chains, which even today continue to lead to shortages and rising costs of essentials like milk, toilet paper and infant formula. DLT technologies are also being used to protect consumers’ health by tracing the origin of produce and other foods to improve food safety. In fact, 12 of the largest global food companies have already adopted the use of blockchain to track food around the world, including Walmart, Nestlé, Unilever, Tyson Food, Driscoll’s and Dole.
Blockchain is also being used to improve the travel industry. For example, Australia-based Webjet is using its blockchain platform to help prevent inaccurate or lost hotel bookings. This provides more transparency for customers and greater accountability on behalf of hotels.
And identity management is no stranger to blockchain-based solutions. In a time and place where data and privacy are so important to users, blockchain allows users to control their personal information through a distributed trust model. We are slowly starting to see an influx of blockchain-based identity management startups flooding the industry, and the blockchain identity management market is projected to reach nearly $18 billion by 2030.
While it is still too early to know the full impact of the cryptocurrency meltdown, informing us about how new technologies like blockchain work, their benefits and the potential for abuse remains our best line of defense. It’s also the best way to identify and unleash the full potential of distributed ledger technologies to solve some of today’s most complex problems.
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