Since it was unveiled in 2009 alongside Bitcoin, blockchain technology has been synonymous with cryptocurrencies. Providing the framework for these cryptos to work, multiple blockchains have been created, and extensive research and development have been done into the technology.
There has also been continuous research into other uses for the technology, highlighting many other areas where it could be useful. Because of this, the technology is no longer exclusive to cryptocurrencies but can be found in many other industries, with development continuing to introduce it into new sectors.
Read on to explore the various uses of blockchain technology outside of crypto, from supply chain management to running databases.
What Is Blockchain Technology?
In simple terms, a blockchain is a ledger that is stored across various devices rather than in a single digital location. For this reason, it is referred to as decentralized.
The base architecture of this design offers some unique advantages over other forms of digital ledgers, which has made the technology increasingly popular. Among these advantages are the transparency the public ledger offers, security due to a chain's cryptographic nature, and efficiency due to multiple processing points.
Above all these advantages is the fact that a transaction cannot be removed or changed once it is written to the ledger. This further boosts the ledger's security and transparency and provides an irrefutable record for any application.
Sectors Employing Blockchain
As mentioned, various sectors other than crypto have already employed blockchain technology to aid processes and record keeping. The most notable of these are:
Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management has always been essential to the manufacturing and consumer goods supply industry. Blockchains used in supply chain management work in much the same way as previous systems but include the advantages that only this technology can boast.
As such, supply chains powered by blockchain can track products as they move down a supply chain and provide an irrefutable record of each stop the products have made. This offers better transparency over where the product has been, improves the safety of products (particularly for food items), and, in some instances, can help optimize logistics by highlighting where bottlenecks occur.
One of the most notable international companies that employs this technology to track all food items sold in-store is Walmart. This has allowed it to have a comprehensive map of items, aiding in instances where a recall is required and helping identify trends in sales.
Health Sector
Similar to supply chain management, blockchain has been employed by the health sector to track pharmaceuticals. This has aided in ensuring that medicines given to patients are authentic and has helped prevent counterfeit (and possibly dangerous) alternatives.
More than tracking medicine, blockchain has been used as a database to store sensitive medical records of patients. By using a blockchain for this, data privacy has been vastly improved. As an additional benefit, having medical information stored in a central database has improved interoperability among doctors and medical institutes.
One of the most best-known examples is Medicalchain, a startup company offering a central blockchain to store medical data for UK residents. Despite failing due to various unforeseen challenges and lack of interest, the company proved a vital concept that gives patients control over their information and who has access to it. This has led to further development in this area.
iGaming
One of the most unexpected industries to adopt blockchain technology has been the iGaming sector. Experiencing significant growth internationally over recent years, online gambling games have become increasingly popular but have also led to more people being concerned about their fairness.
While primarily available in crypto casinos, blockchain technology has been used to replace the traditional random number generator (RNG) algorithms typically used by casino games. In place of these algorithms, blockchain is being used to create more transparent, provably fair, and completely tamper-proof RNGs.
While it is still recommended that you get to know the casino site before funding your account, blockchain in this industry has led to more safe sites to choose from. As an additional bonus for these websites, using blockchain and offering provably fair games has boosted their reputation among players.
Identity Management
Another innovative use of blockchain has been for creating and verifying digital identities. This initiative has been piloted in Estonia through the country's e-Residency program and has attracted much attention as an alternative to traditional forms of identification verification.
This use employs a blockchain to create a secure digital identity for each resident, which is safely stored on the chain. Once this identity is stored on the chain, it can easily be verified by any party needing to validate an identity.
The system drastically reduces the chance of identity theft but also provides other advantages. Because identity information (including biometrics) is stored in a singular place, various industries can validate a user, which has allowed residents to pay bills or fill prescriptions, all while being verified via the blockchain.
Future Adoption Opportunities
As the development of blockchain technology has continued, various other uses for it have been identified that could soon be implemented.
Data Management
Although already partially used for this through the creation of databases and even through supply chain management, many believe that blockchain will become the future of data management and databases. The technology's security, transparency, and ability to allow each person to regulate and control their own stored data are perfectly suited to this task.
Intellectual Property
Various ideas have been discussed about using blockchain to create a central database for intellectual property rights. This will create a register where inventors, scientists, and entrepreneurs can register new ideas. Doing so will create a ledger to prove ownership and prevent copyright or patent infringements across various sectors.
Real Estate
Similar to using blockchain to transfer funds in the form of crypto, it has been theorized that blockchain could facilitate the transfer of property titles when purchasing or selling property. This would eliminate the need for intermediaries, streamline the process, and provide significant cost savings when investing in real estate.
Conclusion
Despite blockchain making its way into many industries, with further penetration planned in the future, notable challenges hinder this. These challenges include the technology's scalability, the extensive energy used by chains that use proof-of-work consensus, and the lack of clear regulation internationally.
While some industries have overcome these and implemented blockchain with great success, it remains to be seen whether this expansion will continue. If it does, it will likely lead to increased transparency in various sectors and the streamlining of many processes.