The term ‘blockchain’ is synonymous with cryptocurrency for many. To correlation dates back to the launch of Bitcoin. However, blockchain is a complete technology in itself, transforming several major industries globally. As many as 65 major industries have either adopted the technology or plan to do so in the near future. This includes finance, banking, shipping, supply chain, social media, and energy. As of 2021, 81 of the world’s top 100 companies by market capitalization use blockchain technology. 27 of these companies have a fully functional product developed using the technology. This is a mere glimpse into the ever-increasing blockchain use cases.
The global blockchain technology market is set to grow at a CAGR of 85.9% from 2022 to 2030, reaching a valuation of over $1,431 billion. With the increasing adoption of the technology across industries, this growth rate is only going to move upwards. It is the blockchain use cases that continue to fuel the rise of the crypto industry.
What Is Blockchain Technology
Blockchain is a highly advanced database mechanism that enables a highly secure and transparent environment for the storage and management of data. As the name suggests, in a blockchain, data is stored in blocks, and these blocks are connected together. Blockchain is a more efficient alternative to traditional database technologies. Blockchain utilizes the highly-secure distributed ledger technology (DLT) to create a tamper-proof system for recording transactions. Recording immutable (data that is impossible to alter) data is one of the very first blockchain use cases.
What Are The Top Blockchain Use Cases
Blockchain Smart Contracts: Smart contracts have a use in every business process that requires automation to eliminate intermediaries. Smart contracts are basically programs designed to trigger certain actions based on the fulfilment of predetermined conditions. Smart contracts are becoming increasingly popular across different industries.
Be it supply chain, banking or transportation, companies across the world are adopting smart contracts to increase efficiency by eliminating over-dependence on intermediaries. Algorand, Avalanche, Fantom, Cardano, and Solana are some of the most popular smart contract platforms.
Blockchain In Healthcare: Blockchain in healthcare is still in its early stage of adoption. One of the biggest roles of blockchain in healthcare is going to be the maintenance of patient records. The end goal of blockchain adoption in healthcare is to reduce costs, streamline communication, enhance access to information and enhance transparency. Traditionally, healthcare is an inflated industry, with the management of records resulting in additional costs for hospitals and health agencies.
Going forward, blockchain solutions could play a critical role in the exchange and preservation of customer data and diagnostic reports. Also, it can play a massive role in other areas like pharmaceuticals. Healthcare is certainly going to be one of the major industries to be transformed by blockchain.
Blockchain In Finance: Finance is probably one of the biggest industries to be transformed by blockchain. Blockchain aims to transform global finance through innovative concepts like DeFi, eliminating the inefficiencies in the existing systems. The goal is to make systems more efficient while reducing the dependence on intermediaries to minimize the chances of human error.
DeFi, Web3, and cryptocurrencies are the blockchain use cases transforming global finance. Blockchain application Ripple is one of the biggest examples of blockchain in finance. According to a study, blockchain finance applications can help banks save more than $27 billion on cross-border transactions by 2030.
Blockchain In Supply Chain and Logistics: Traditional supply chains add to the challenges in global trade. Businesses relying on legacy systems and traditional practices have faced significant challenges in the form of a lack of transparency, limited visibility, revenue loss, and increased lead times. The magnitude of these challenges has increased manifold since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Even now, 69% of organizations lack total visibility into their supply chains. Blockchain supply chain solutions emerge as a more efficient alternative to legacy systems. They integrate with existing business processes, enhancing transparency and enabling end-to-end visibility into supply chain processes. Leading companies like Walmart, UPS, and De Beers have adopted the technology to enhance efficiency by saving costs and time.
Blockchain In Gaming: Riding on the popularity of concepts like P2E, NFTs and Metaverse, blockchain is transforming online gaming globally. Traditionally, gaming has been perceived as a mere means of entertainment. Blockchain gaming allows millions of gaming enthusiasts to take up gaming professionally through platforms that let them monetize their contribution to the ecosystem.
From a valuation of $3 billion, the blockchain gaming industry is set to grow to $39.7 billion by 2025. Platforms like Axie Infinity, Vulcan Forged, and Sandbox are at the forefront of the blockchain gaming revolution. It is one of the major industries to look at from the standpoint of employment and revenue generation.
Blockchain In E-Commerce: When the internet arrived, businesses went online to cater to a wider audience, with the potential to expand globally. Now, blockchain is helping those businesses go one step further while tackling issues in the existing framework. Ethereum virtual machine, which provides e-commerce brands with a platform to manage their blockchains, is being widely adopted by companies.
Blockchain ensures that transactions are lightning-fast and extremely secure. Moreover, it provides greater transparency and visibility into business operations, helping businesses trace the origin of inefficiencies. Blockchain solutions help e-retail brands cut costs, save time, and replace intermediaries with smart contracts.
Blockchain In Real Estate: Real estate is a depreciating asset somewhere and an appreciating asset somewhere else. This non-uniformity in global real estate, despite the comparatively stable nature of the asset class, is a headache for those seeking to put their money into properties. Moreover, buying properties involves third-party agents or intermediaries, and it leads to additional costs. The transfer of ownership often takes weeks or even months. Blockchain real estate solves all these problems through a concept known as tokenization.
Blockchain real estate platforms allow users to invest in properties in different parts of the world through cryptocurrencies. The transfer of ownership happens within minutes without the involvement of any third-party agent. The concept provides investors with the flexibility to invest in properties in a region with appreciating real estate. Some platforms also allow investors to invest in a fraction of the property, encouraging increased participation.
Blockchain In Media: Data theft, piracy, and irregularities in royalty payments are the three key challenges before media organizations globally. With digitization taking over, the impact of these problems has increased manifold, and media companies struggle to find a solution. Blockchain has the potential to present a feasible solution for all three problems.
By implementing blockchain solutions, media organizations can prevent the theft of intellectual property such as videos, audio files, images, and articles. The technology can also ensure superfast payments in a highly secure environment. Maintaining data integrity is another area where the technology can come in handy. Companies like Madhive and Steem are already helping the media industry with a facelift through blockchain solutions.
Blockchain In Governance: DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) are a prime example of how blockchain technology can streamline governance. Inefficiency in governance has a wider impact. Therefore, blockchain could be one of the tools to improve governance globally. Besides that, several state governments are using the technology for strong critical records.
With blockchain, governments can ensure there is complete transparency in everything to win the trust of the public. It could be a great tool to set accountability for government officials and agencies. Governance is probably one of the most revolutionary blockchain use cases. The technology can also help save millions of hours of red tape annually. Besides all this, blockchain could also be used in elections for greater trust and security.
Final Word
Blockchain’s evolution continues to counter the popular narrative that the technology is only useful in the case of cryptocurrencies. Governments, financial institutions, and e-retail businesses are adopting blockchain alike. Increased efficiency is the primary end goal pushing this adoption. Save time and costs while decreasing the dependence on intermediaries is what blockchain enables. Therefore, it has emerged as a game-changing technology, tackling existing inefficiencies on the go. It is the riding adoption, riding on which the blockchain technology market is poised to grow to $1.59 trillion by 2030. Going forward, the adoption of blockchain for business processes could be the norm.