5 industries that are being transformed by blockchain technology.
How we do business is an ever-evolving landscape. In modern history, the internet has been one of the most transformative inventions leading to the most seismic changes for many industries. From online trading to the emergence, sometimes volatile, of cryptocurrencies, business went from local to global, offline to online. When it comes to business networks, records, transcripts and processing fiscal transactions, blockchain played and plays a lead role too. But has blockchain technology genuinely transformed certain industries, or is it but a bit player on the great global stage that is high tech and finance?
Before we delve into five industries that are embracing, and being changed by blockchain technology, we should pause to consider its value. Now, to be clear, and unlike cryptocurrencies, blockchain does not boast a monetary value. It is not a currency; it is a digitally based transaction ledger. The distinction matter, and the clarification is important to those who may not be au courant or au fait with such things.
But this lack of value in cash terms does not denote something without value. Another crucial point. As with many things, the cost and the value are two quite different and often equally important things to consider. So, what of the industries that are being affected, transformed, reinvigorated and progressed by blockchain technology? Let’s take a brief but interesting look.
Online Casinos
Whether you know it or not, many online casinos use blockchain technology and have done since they started accepting cryptocurrencies on their platforms. One of the major transformations is the level of security that this can support online players. From the casual player on the Joe Fortune crypto casino platform to the professional poker players who now congregate online as well as in person, confidence in their online transactions is key. Whether it’s deposits, withdrawals or wagers, online gambling can offer previously unimagined protection from nefarious cybersecurity threats. On that basis alone, the blockchain technology that backs this is almost invaluable.
Banking
Of course, the banking industry is both invested in and bolstered by the wonders of blockchain technology. As well as the emergence of central banking digital currencies as a more widely use form of payment, banking is also about assets. Thanks to blockchain technology, banks are now transforming their operations. Transferring assets online, storing transaction information, offering new ways to invest for entrepreneurs or speculators, blockchain is playing a part in each and every one of these developments. As financial institutions use blockchain more frequently, the industry is being transformed at an almost exponential rate.
Stock Market Trading
Knowing how to use tech is, of course, critical, and the stock market and trading industry continues to invest to ensure it leads rather than follows in this advanced fiscal realm. In the case of trading floors, much of the transformation is down to the way blockchain can allow for centralisation as well as decentralisation when it comes to deals that are brokered. And how they are done. With millions of global trades made around the globe each year from a plethora of trading locations, from London to New York, Tokyo to Berlin and beyond, blockchain is become not only mainstream, but almost mandatory. From streamlining and automation to the baked in security for payment clearance protocols, blockchain continues to take stock market trading to another level.
Government
In a move that surprises some but is no shock to others, governments around the globe are getting on board with blockchain technology. Some would argue it is out of necessity, and embracing this new tech is unavoidable. Naturally, it can be multifarious in usage, as governments have a profusion of departments, each of which needs both advanced financial technology as well as security. As more global leaders openly discuss the potential introduction and long-term benefits of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), the more blockchain technology becomes more critical for them.
Entertainment and Media
As we have alluded to when ruminating on the way blockchain technology is transforming a range of other industries, two of the recuring themes seems to be security and privacy. From streaming music platforms to how we communicate across social media, the use of fan tokens or similar so-called digital entertainment assets to the protection of intellectual property and copyright, blockchain technology is, has-been, and will continue to be an undeniably transformative advance and asset. With digital piracy costing the entertainment and media world billions each year, the charge to use the most advanced blockchain technology on the market is at a febrile level.
So, with so many industries being axiomatically and evidently transformed and bettered by blockchain technology, is there any doubt that it will continue to form the foundation of online security, the bedrock of digital privacy, and the plinth on which online transactional confidence is built? I don’t think there is any doubt at all.