The blockchain is enabling people all over the world exchange funds with complete trust. It is a good thing and a welcome move wherein a global economy with over two billion people who can’t access a bank account. The World Bank and other government agencies discussed how governments can help their citizens adapt to relentless technological and social change. This move was encouraged during the World Government Summit February this year in Dubai. For the first time, blockchain has offered a new digital medium where anyone can access anything that holds value. Blockchain enables you to access stocks, money, bonds, deeds, title and digital property. The platform has also made it possible to move votes and even identify and manage it privately and securely.

Blockchain’s Rise in Popularity

Blockchain was launched in 2011 and has grown exponentially to become one of the most trusted companies that offer bitcoin services. Blockchain has developed to become the most popular platform through which people can exchange digital money in the world otherwise known as Bitcoin wallet. Blockchain has also provided applets used to build new Bitcoin software by other developers. People can also exchange digital money without knowing each other using Blockchain. The need for intermediaries such as PayPal and banks are also eliminated.

How Blockchain Works

Unlike other platforms where trust is established using a third party, blockchain ensures confidence through a mass consensus and a clever code using a network. This method of establishing trust has huge implications for businesses, intermediaries and the entire society. Blockchain has had an impact on trade, financial services, technology companies, and intermediaries. All these institutions have had an impact on our personal lives from how we interact on social media platforms, hail a cab from online cab services or even search for information on Google.

As of today, Blockchain has given away most of its products including a three million digital wallets. Blockchain gets revenue from ads on its site. The company completed a Series A funding round worth over $300 million. The funding round included investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners from Silicon Valley and the London-based Mosaic Ventures billionaire, Richard Branson. Multiple applications depend on blockchain technology from transportation, employment, and banking.

The Internet of Things

There is a link between the Internet of things (IoT) and blockchain. One of the unique developments is that it has transformed what was previously known as qualitative phenomena into quantitative measurements. A Blockchain powered IoT can verify and track device history while at the same time give the device some degree of autonomy. This feature ensures that the devices can make numerous different transactions independently. Similar to the capabilities of big data, as explained in resources such as an Apache Kafka Tutorial, Blockchain’s transformative potential will only increase when we learn to interpret quantitative objects and their subjectivity.

Audit and Accounting

In the world of accounting, audit firms rely on costly audits to make a profit. Accounting is dependent on double-entry where you either record a debit or credit for any transactions. Blockchain brings the possibility of a third entry which is time stamped in a distributed ledger. The ledger may be acceptable to any of the stakeholders involved. These stakeholders include shareholders and regulators. This incentive will give a complete truth and a perfect record that improves the general health of the company.

Government and Policy

Blockchain can also positively transform government and democracy. Governments can use the blockchain platform to enable self-organization in civil society organizations, agencies, companies, and individual citizens. Moreover, politicians could be elected into office with a smart contract that outlines what they will do during their tenure. Blockchain, through this smart contract, could ensure that the officials are not paid unless they fulfill certain obligations to the electorate and not the lobbies who funded their campaigns. Citizens can confirm that their vote was cast in the blockchain powered voting system in a completely private way. This will eliminate the traditional server technology that voters have little faith in.

Whether or not blockchain will redeem its promises and live up to expectations is a question that only time can answer. However, incentives by individuals, institutions, and governments to move from the traditionally based systems onto blockchain based will be a step forward.

 

Comments »