Blockchains make digital records immutable and virtually permanent. It requires a considerable amount of computing power and collusion in order to reverse a transaction and cover one’s tracks. That is why blockchain technology is referred to as the great chain of being sure about things. Today, more blockchain applications besides the currency are developed for harnessing the blockchain technology. The following are five of the blockchain ideas that are in the progress stage.
Blockchain Application 1: Distributed Cloud Storage
Current cloud storage services are not decentralized and, therefore, users are forced to place their trust in a single storage provider. The single storage provider has the control all of your online assets. However, with the blockchain technology, this can become decentralized. For example, Storj is a beta-testing cloud storage that uses a blockchain-powered network for improving security and decreasing dependency. In addition, users can also rent out their excess storage capacity, thereby creating new marketplaces. Anyone on the internet can store your data at a price that is pre-agreed. Thus, having the data in multiple locations is the key to securing it. Experts have predicted that blockchain will be the major disruptor of cloud technology in the next three to four years.
Blockchain Application 2: Digital Identity
Have you ever imagined about never having to worry about your digital security? Undoubtedly, digital security is a massive problem in the world. Digital security is now estimated to cost the industry about $18.5 billion annually. This means that for every $3 spent, $1 is going to prevent or firefight fraud.
Blockchain technologies can help in tracking and managing digital identities in both secure and efficient manners, thereby resulting in seamless sign-on and reduced fraud. Be it banking, national security, healthcare, citizenship documentation, or online retailing, identity authorization and authentication is a process intricately woven into commerce and culture worldwide. Blockchain technology offers solutions for many digital identity issues, where identity can be uniquely authenticated in an immutable, irrefutable, and secure manner. For example, shocard is a digital identity that helps in protecting consumer privacy and is as easy to understand and use.
Blockchain Application 3: Smart Contracts
Smart contracts are legally binding programmable digitized contracts that are entered on the blockchain. Developers implement legal contracts as variables and statements that are able to release funds using the bitcoin network as a ‘3rd party executor’, instead of trusting a single central authority. For instance, if two people want to exchange $500 at a specific time in the future when a specific set of preconditions are met, these conditions, parties’ details and payouts would be programmed into a smart contract. Once these defined conditions in the smart contract are met, it will release funds, send them to the appropriate party, as per given terms.
The future potential of the blockchain applications is still unraveling. In the next couples of years, blockchain experts will be focusing their efforts on experimenting and applying blockchain to all aspects of society. Regardless of which application comes first on a global scale, the bottom line is that blockchain is here to stay and is transforming the functioning of our society.