In 2008, the world experienced a global financial crisis, it was recorded as a severe crisis for the economy worldwide. Banks failed the people, even the people who did not invest or acquire homes with mortgages. The problem lingers and collapses many investment banks. A massive bail-out was adopted including palliative monetary and fiscal policies to prevent the world financial system yet the crisis was nonetheless followed by a global economic downturn and a recession began. According to economists, the crisis was considered the most serious financial crisis since the great depression of 1930.
In response to the financial crisis now comes a Blockchain, which was initially created for a digital currency called “bitcoin” by a group or an individual under a pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto with a notion to digitized, decentralized, immutable public ledger that facilitates transactions without going through an intermediary (i.e. bank or a governing body).
Satoshi Imagined Bitcoin as a peer to peer transaction i.e. 3 fish for 10 potatoes. He wanted a real peer to peer transaction where an individual can trade without middlemen with trust and security, while also trusting that the assets are being transferred. Thereafter, blockchain as a platform has grown to be a technology that has found thousands of other applications, besides just Bitcoin, we could refer to bitcoin as an application on the app-store while blockchain is the smartphone. With such brilliance, “Satoshi” disappeared in 2011 but left a strong community to continue his work.
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As predicted Blockchain will disrupt dozens of tech and non-tech industries. In 2016-2018 Blockchain and Cryptocurrency jobs postings were tripled and are expected to grow at an even higher rate in the future. Also, blockchain is regarded as the next revolutionary technology after the Internet, which will transform every part of life. its market capitalization of cryptocurrencies rose from $17.7B at the beginning of 2017 to $500B within a year. As of January 2018, venture capitalist and Initial Coin Offering “VC/ICO’ funds raised towards blockchain companies was around $1.2B.
Today, blockchain technology has given rise to hundreds of ventures that leverage blockchain technology across industries which include – Finance, Fintech, Supply Chain, Real Estate, Music & Entertainment, Sharing Economy, Government and others.
In finance – the Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) is faster, less expensive and cut out middlemen, more secure, more transparent compared to interbank transfer where banks act as the middlemen.
In the sharing economy, blockchain will replace the middlemen, such as Uber and Bolt, connecting drivers directly to the passengers, processing payments upon arrival, submission of positive reviews or expiration of 24 hours post-stay without complaint, and collection of reviews and rating (“reputation”). An argument can be made that there’s no need for these multi-billion-dollar companies that act as middlemen.
In real Estate – Blockchain will foster Smart (self-executing) contracts, Mortgage approval, financing verification, Reduction of fraud, Land title/property rights management, and Data.
In the Music Industry – with blockchain, the industry will experience IP Rights attribution, Royalty distribution, Speed of pay-out to musicians and Alternative sources of capital. Currently, HelloSugoi, Mycelia, Ujo Music, dotBlockchain are changing the ordinance.
“Internet of things” widely known as IoT. Supply Chain will be able to track locations of goods and times when they are shipped, track the conditions if it’s been kept at the agreed terms. Asset tracking will Record activity levels of assets and machinery. Healthcare will Enable the sharing and editing of medical records by various parties with different permission levels while encrypting their data. Smart appliances: Devices such as an oven, laundry machine, pot, AC, and car are connected on the blockchain to stop when the food is cooked, the laundry is finished. This saves energy and prolongs the life of appliances while keeping us informed.
In conclusion, Blockchain could be considered as the mechanic that will revolutionaries the world. The Internet changed the world and Blockchain is addressing some of the existing problems we still face across the board.