Expanding the horizon of blockchain
It’s official. There are more blockchain and crypto headlines appearing in 2021 than ever before. But why? Blockchain has been around for over two decades. And it was Bitcoin that really gave blockchain its first recognisable utility. Others followed in a trickle, but then came the deluge. With a little over 6,500 cryptocurrencies in existence and a total market value exceeding $2 trillion, the technology is bound to make waves. Interestingly, the roots of blockchain run deep and are still largely unexplored, which puts it in the category of nascent, emerging tech.
Soon after Ethereum’s open market solution allowed users to create their own coin systems with little or no technical assistance, it positioned the utility of blockchain in a whole new way. Globally, firms started to integrate blockchain solutions in multiple industries and started to launch their own tokens to support their visions. While few experts were able to ideate and position ways of integrating a blockchain network, the tech expertise required to execute it was far from satisfactory, and even farther were the age-old operational methodologies prevalent in traditional industries.
Contracts, agreements, deeds, and transactional records comprise the defining structures of our economic, legal, and political systems. They protect assets and set organisational boundaries. They establish and verify identities and chronicle events. They govern interactions among nations, organisations, communities, and individuals. They guide managerial and social actions as well. And yet the critical tools and the bureaucracies intended to manage such phenomena have not kept pace with the economy’s digital transformation. They’re like superbikes trapped in rush-hour traffic. In a digital world, it is imperative we change the way we regulate and maintain administrative control.
Blockchain promises to mitigate such problems. Effective leveraging of data in a manner that is foolproof, verifiable, and authentic is the cornerstone of an enterprise’s growth. The key is to bring about a hitherto missing awareness on blockchain and its applications in everyday lives and remodel how we use and let others use our data. This also places in context the top-level utility and management of blockchain. The technology can speed up processes, reduce transaction times and can have a major impact on the bottom line of enterprises. It is also an effective tool to prove the authenticity of digital assets.
Enterprises looking to break into the blockchain space should remember, however, there are many untested applications of this technology. There are many companies considering using blockchain simply due to the hype around it. In many instances, a centralised database is a much better alternative of storing data. So, it would be wise to thoroughly assess if there is a genuine need for the technology.
One can’t forecast the kind of decentralised applications that will emerge from the blockchain sector, in the years to come. With strategic planning, blockchain could be employed in key industries, which could herald a paradigm shift in the way we do business. Its power to tokenise an economy transcends the domain of information technology and makes it a truly institutional technology.