Question

companies are adopting or planning to adopt blockchain technology. Since we want to focus on corporate applications, please select a non-cryptocurrency topic.

Prompt:

A summary of the specific application of blockchain you selected. A discussion of the types of companies and/or industries that will benefit from this application. An analysis of whether or not this application of blockchain technology will be successful. Minimum 450 words

Answer 1

Blockchain is an electronic ledger (digital database) which keeps an unchangeable record of data operations. These operations are grouped in “blocks”. The data is decentralized and stored across the network. Decentralized networks and smart contracts can revolutionize the process for operating in various business areas, if the right problem is addressed with the right technology.

In 2013 Ethereum introduced a new and exciting concept, today known as a smart contract. Smart contracts are computer protocols intended to digitally facilitate, verify, or enforce the negotiation or performance of a contract. One of the best things about the blockchain is that, because it is a decentralized system that exists between all permitted parties, there’s no need to pay intermediaries (Middlemen) and it saves you time and conflict. Smart contracts don’t require third parties involvement in the process, while providing higher security (all the transactions are trackable and irreversible) and reducing transaction costs.

How smart contracts work

Smart contracts help you exchange money, property, shares, or anything of value in a transparent, conflict-free way while avoiding the services of a middleman. The best way to describe smart contracts is to compare the technology to a vending machine. Ordinarily, you would go to a lawyer or a notary, pay them, and wait while you get the document. With smart contracts, you simply drop a bitcoin into the vending machine (i.e. ledger), and your escrow, driver’s license, or whatever drops into your account. More so, smart contracts not only define the rules and penalties around an agreement in the same way that a traditional contract does, but also automatically enforce those obligations.

Smart contracts can:

• Function as ‘multi-signature’ accounts, so that funds are spent only when a required percentage of people agree
• Manage agreements between users, say, if one buys insurance from the other
• Provide utility to other contracts (similar to how a software library works)
• Store information about an application, such as domain registration information or membership records.

Decentralized networks and smart contracts are already revolutionizing various industries. More efficient, transparent, scalable and immutable enterprise blockchain products are being developed in healthcare, finance, supply chain management, insurance, transport, media, government and many more. Gartner in its report: “Blockchain + WAN Edge = Leading the Digital Transformation” predicts that by 2030, 30% of the global customer base will be made up of things that use blockchain as a foundational technology to conduct commercial activity.

Below are some of the applications of blockchain-backed Smart Contract projects that are already under development or in use:

Insurance: AXA turns to smart contracts for flight-delay insurance

Government: The Republic of Georgia uses blockchain to validate property-related government transactions

Supply Chain Management: All too often, supply chains are hampered by paper-based systems, where forms have to pass through numerous channels for approval, which increases exposure to loss and fraud. The blockchain nullifies this by providing a secure, accessible digital version to all parties on the chain and automates tasks and payment.

Automobile: One application is the self-autonomous or self-parking vehicles, where smart contracts could put into play a sort of ‘oracle’ that could detect who was at fault in a crash; the sensor or the driver, as well as countless other variables. Using smart contracts, an automobile insurance company could charge rates differently based on where, and under which, conditions customers are operating their vehicles.

Real Estate: Ordinarily, if you wanted to rent your apartment to someone, you’d need to pay a middleman such as Craigslist or a newspaper to advertise and then again you’d need to pay someone to confirm that the person paid rent and followed through. The ledger cuts your costs. All you do is pay via bitcoin and encode your contract on the ledger. Everyone sees, and you accomplish automatic fulfillment. Brokers, real estate agents, hard money lenders, and anyone associated with the property game can profit.

Healthcare: Personal health records could be encoded and stored on the blockchain with a private key which would grant access only to specific individuals. The same strategy could be used to ensure that research is conducted via HIPAA laws (in a secure and confidential way). Receipts of surgeries could be stored on a blockchain and automatically sent to insurance providers as proof-of-delivery. The ledger, too, could be used for general healthcare management, such as supervising drugs, regulation compliance, testing results, and managing healthcare supplies.