Transaction stored on the blockchain will actually make it easier to fight crime, stop fraud and counterfeiting creating a more stable and secure financial system.
Great article and great explanations, but could you please quantify or elaborate on how transaction blocks in a chain will help fight crime and stop fraud? I have seen some pretty good evidence that many fraudulent transactions have happened over the years to digital currencies, and because of the blockchain, they explicitly can't be stopped, reversed, or fought. That is mainly what had made me reluctant to get onboard with digital currency earlier.
Thanks
The blockchain can/will be used to track many different things and not just for currency. Take for example the amount of counterfeit electronics, designer clothes etc into the USA every year is insane. It's around 1.2 billon dollars worth of goods which they say are only a fraction of what actually gets in. I know that Blockverify a company from London is working on blockchain technology to track the goods and verify them. To make a long story short products will be able to be verified via mobile devices.
Blockverify also aims to put an end to counterfeit pharmaceuticals via the blockchain tracking, tracing and authenticating the original drugs.
Here is a link to a cool article explaining a bit more about how blockchain technology can be a useful tool in stopping criminal activity.
Very interesting article, thanks for linking it. I started writing some replies not just to your comment, but to others about blockchain, and it became a beast. It's now a blog article in the works and pushing about 2000 words already. So expect that over the next day or so. haha
I will say though, that the person being interviewed was very careful to use words like "detect," "analyze," and "predict" when talking about fraud and criminal activity. When asked about whether it could be stopped, he very explicitly said no and spoke about needing to combine the blockchain with other applications and analytic software. I think where it falls down (as far as out and out prevention) which he alludes to, but doesn't explicitly say, is the anonymity aspect.
If they can analyse data for known, identifiable entities, then absolutely, they may be able to actively prevent crime. But while things are anonymous, then there's still the opportunity for criminals to get away with things while analysts sit around a board room table nodding their heads, saying "see? uhuh. told ya so." :)
Still it's fascinating technology and I'm finding it interesting in the way it's being applied in different sectors.
Really? Cool! I'm excited to see your article. I think the technology will only just see more and more people with more and more ideas and it will keep upgrading and getting better and better.