Most people have heard about blockchain in tandem with bitcoin's rise as the flagship of cryptocurrencies. However, blockchain is more than just bitcoin; it's a method of tracking transactions using Technology that could prove to be revolutionary. While still in its infancy, blockchain is being adapted to a number of business uses and will likely serve a wide array of purposes in the future.
"There is no end to the list of applications blockchain can be used for. Blockchain is going to change everything we know over the next five to 10 years," said Mike Almeida, president of Empire ATM Group. "Blockchain Technology can make many aspects of our life easier on a mathematically provable platform."
In short, blockchain is a massive, decentralized ledger of transactions maintained by many different, decentralized sources. As a result, there is no need for a single, central authority, such as a bank, to confirm whether transactions really occurred. The bottom line is transactions recorded in blockchain are secure and, generally, irreversible once confirmed.
The most popular application today is likely cryptocurrency, but experts say blockchain can be used for everything from data management to regulatory compliance. Limiting blockchain to bitcoin would be a mistake that does not harness the technology's full potential, said Justo Paul, founder of digital currency Injii.Â
"Blockchain isn't just an evolution in technology but rather a revolutionary change in how things work and a paradigm shift with regards to who is in control," Paul said. "The disruptions we are seeing [aren't] limited to the banking industry and commerce. It has the potential to positively impact all sectors of the economy."
Here are a few examples of where you might see blockchain change the game in the coming years. [To learn more about how blockchain works, check out our primer.]
Blockchain offers what is essentially a permanent record of transactions, which creates an easy-to-follow paper trail for audits, both internal and governmental. It guarantees accuracies and solves the problem of pulling in records from a number of disparate sources.
"The more you store in blockchain, the more history you have in your hands to audit," said Antonis Papatsaras, chief technology officer of SpringCM.
Blockchain also has potential when it comes to quality assurance, especially when something goes wrong. Since companies can link every facet of the supply chain, if there is the need for a recall or investigation into where something went wrong, blockchain offers a definitive, contiguous ledger to immediately identify the problem.
"Events like a salmonella scare could be traced back to the source in seconds, and every single bag from that batch would be flagged for removal whether it be freshly packed in the processing plant, in a truck being delivered or in the retail store already. This system could notify everyone involved in seconds rather than days," Almeida said.Â
Blockchain promises quicker trading on stock exchanges, whether in securities or commodities. The distributed nature of the technology ensures that a process previously undertaken over the course of several days is affirmed and finalized in just several minutes, greatly streamlining the entire experience.
