Most people who are on the internet for a fair amount of time has probably heard of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin, specifically. It is also already common knowledge that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin come from what is called blockchain technology. However, blockchain more than just cryptos. Blockchain technology has many vital uses in the world right now–some you might not probably even be able to guess.
From being used in managing payments in trustworthy online casinos to making sure that products arrive at their destination on time, blockchain is used in almost everything. Before diving into where it is used, it is better to have a basic understanding of how this technology works first.
Why is blockchain important
All forms of business deal with sharing and receiving information. No matter the industry or the sector your business may be involved in, you would surely work with something that has to do with dealing with information. With that in mind, any businessman would find it ideal to have this set of information transferred and received in the fastest manner possible.
But aside from speed, you would also, of course, want to have the best security you can have. Especially if you are sharing extremely sensitive information, you wouldn’t want a prying eye to see things that they should not see.
This, among others, is what blockchain technology for.
Since blockchain is defined as “immutable,” this means that no information can be removed or altered from the ledger of records, delivering transparency when it comes to dealing with information. If there had been a mistake in one entry, a new entry correcting the mistake would be made, and both entries would be visible to anyone with access to the ledger.
Now that you have a fair understanding of the fundamentals of blockchain, here are some of the most common uses of blockchain in various industries.
Payment processing and money transfers
In some industries, such as online gambling, the processing of money needs to be done in s fast and efficient way. Customers deposit their in-game wallets, and they make withdrawals from their in-game wallets to their chosen method as well. Blockchain is used to make transfers of money from one account to another faster than how it used to be.
Digital identification systems
Millions of people face identity problems every year. Tech giant Microsoft is using blockchain technology in the early stage of their decentralized digital ID system has a vision of giving its users more freedom and more security all in one service.
Data management
Blockchain can be sued to manage data, too–from storage to sharing, to simply secure access. Among others, one use of it is for immutable backup, one that no other technology was able to offer so far. Since it is immutably stored, backed up data cannot be changed, altered, deleted, or damaged.
Logistics
Withy how huge the logistics industry is, data and information can be easily lost and buried in the dump. By utilizing blockchain, companies can process and read records faster and with as little room for mistakes as possible, making way for faster and more efficient shipping processes.
Internet of Things
IoT has millions of applications running on it, and more and more devices are into IoT well. While this is good news in terms of technological advancement, this also means a huge amount of data and information that can be stolen by hackers and cyber attackers. By using blockchain, a higher level of security is added to the information not only to keep it safe but also to prevent breaches and leaks, and this is part of what makes the IoT “smart.”
