The word "Blockchain" refers to a very new digital technology that allows a network of computers to think together and agree on the legitimacy of the transactions of data inside that network.
Every a fixed amount of time, a block of data (containing the information about the transactions occured in the network) is created and validated by the partecipants of the network.This system of managing data is then secured by the cryptographic signatures of the members of the network, and this allows transparency and legitimacy.
The benefits of this technology are so astonishing that many experts in the digital sector see it as a second digital revolution, and there is a wide number of sectors who will have to transform themselves in order to survive to this new digital disruption.
Transfer of Money
This technology makes impossible a "double spending problem"(a mistake in which a transaction of money occurs two times) and also allow not to rely on third parties while making a transaction(like Paypal for example).Bitcoin and Ripple are the two most clear examples.While the first one is thought to be a peer2peer cash system(money is not created through debt like in the banking system), the second one enables banks to exchange money in a quicker and more efficient way between them.
Money transfer in the usual way it can take up to 3 days, and two banks are involved in this process(one for every party in the transaction).With cryptocurrencies like bitcoin,no external party is involved.Fees are lower and the whole network verifies the transactions, instead of leaving the controlling power just to few people in the banking industry.
Ripple instead,tries to focus on solving big liquidity problems that banks have.For example, If a bank needs a lot of money to be able to provide loans,with cryptocurrency this transfer of money is instantaneous.
Public ledger
The benefits of a public and unfalsifiable ledger can bring us to a new way of storying data.Governents can have an immutable history of all house ownerships(facilitating law disputes), and the fusion of companies or legal entities are a lot easier to handle.In Honduras for example, there is such a big amount of corruption that people struggle to have their lands and proprieties legalized in a efficient way.With blockchain we can create a digital book accessible to everyone, which nobody can falsify.
Factom is focusing exactly on this slice of market.
Smart Contracts
The more information is written directly on the coding,the less has to be taken in account by bureaucracy.It will be easy to create digital contracts that checks if all the requirements where accomplished.If the conditions are meet, the deal is accomplished.This will simplify deeply the way laws will work.
For example in the shipping industry, the payment can be made automatically after the cargo has been delivered, facilitating paperwork and saving a lot of time in bureaucracy.
Ethereum this year made possible the fundraising of many different blockchain projects, and also has been used by ONU to help the exchange of money between refugiees(who are not able to get a bank account).
Micropayments
Music industry suffers from serious copyrights problems.Piracy and the low fees artists get in platforms like Spotify makes this sector having serious efficiency problems.
With blockchain technology the user pays just for what he listen, and artist get fair money for their job.Resonate and other platforms are trying to fix this problem.
Quality Controls
From the birth of a product until the end of its production cycle, quality and requirements are garanteed at every step.High performance pieces in the aereonautic industry are ones of the many products which can lead to mayor damages if counterfeited.With blockchain, requirements are very difficult to cheat.Food industry also will be dirupted, as quality verification of the meat is sold can be easily tracked.
Content Reward
Users can be rewarded for writing content directly for every like they get in their posts.Instead of making money out of advertising, writers are able to be compensated directly for their job.Steemit and other platforms are focusing on this market
In conclusion:
We still cannot see the limits where this technology can lead us, because the stage in which we are right now is similar to the moment back in the 90s when we needed to take out our telephone line to send an email.The technology is already available, but still has to be explored out yet.
The internet of information has been a great age.Services like Google made information accessible and have helped in democratizing it.But while the exchage of information is now in our everyday life, transfer of value still relies on third party verifications and high requirements.
Blockchain technology adds a new layer to the internet: greet the era of information, and be ready for the internet of value.
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