By this point in time, most consumers understand a bit about blockchain technology because of all the information floating around out there on cryptocurrencies. By its very nature, blockchain technology that is the basis of cryptos like Bitcoin and Ether (Ethereum’s crypto), is appealing to the average person simply because it is a decentralized financial instrument.
In effect, crypto is currency that is not dependent upon any government, central bank, or any bank for that matter, and cannot therefore be manipulated by those institutions. It is, for all intents and purposes, a P2P technology that totally bypasses governments and central banks. This, then, leaves the door open to a myriad of non-financial uses that could revolutionize literally every aspect of our lives.
First – A Word on How Governments Are Reacting
Before looking at a few of those non-financial uses for blockchain technology, let’s look at a few of the reasons why governments around the world are taking a rather negative stance on the issue. If you read into their rhetoric, you will find that the implications are clear. There is no way for governments to control something which isn’t dependent on their rules and regulations, or the value they assess to things, such as currency.
Consider for just a moment Ether. Government can’t control something that is a global currency and not their national fiat. They cannot print money on demand that will automatically change that nation’s economy. Check out, for example, the Ethereum Price Index, as it changes throughout a 24-hour day on OKX.com. Those prices ultimately change based on consumer supply and demand, plain and simple. What government would recommend a currency they cannot control?
A Few Non-Financial Uses of Note
Put simply, blockchain technology is a series of ledger entries located on a global network ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of computers. Ledger entries can be traced but they cannot be accessed unless the user holds a private key. This would all but eliminate much of the counterfeiting of products going on out there. For example, counterfeit medications. Since each and every ledger entry is authenticated and entries are spread out across potentially millions of computers around the world, in order to hack a prescription medication, a counterfeiter would need to access at least half of all those computers at the very same instant, and that’s totally impossible to do!
So then, some of the non-financial uses would be authenticating products and intellectual property. It would be a major plus in real estate because the records in those digital ledgers would be written in stone, cyber stone that is! Blockchain technology would prove an irrefutable record of ownership and that, in itself, could save more money wasted on legal fees than most governments allocate for their national budgets annually.
Leaving You with Food for Thought
If you are yet wondering about the scope of nonfinancial uses for blockchain technology, consider how it would impact:
- Voting
- The pharmaceutical industry
- Digital IDs
- Operations within federal governments
- Organizational structures
And so many more that literally every aspect of our lives would be transparent. That, then, is the key to nonfinancial uses for blockchain technology – transparency. If you have ever wondered about the legitimacy of some of those claims out there, there would be no more room for debate. If it can be proven, you’d find it in the blockchain.