Are You Using AI In Your Job?

We want to understand the real-world applications of AL and ML in business and the impact it will have on all our jobs.

Want to help? Complete the survey, your insights could make a big difference. It will just take one minute.
You'll be the first to get access to the final report.-->

6 Industry Uses For Blockchain Apps

Bobby Gill | January 4, 2019

The term “blockchain” no longer receives blank looks and a “Huh, what?” question. Sure, it is still difficult to grasp all the technical aspects of it. However, blockchain technology has gone mainstream thanks to Bitcoin.

What most people do not realize, though, is that blockchain applications can do much more than facilitate the exchange of cryptocurrencies. There are many potential uses for blockchain across a wide range of industries.

What can blockchain be used for? Who uses blockchain? The following examples are worth keeping in mind and can answer those questions.

Uses of Blockchain Technology Include Supply Chain Management

A blockchain is essentially a public ledger distributed across a large network of computers. Since the ledger does not store information in a central location, transparency improves.

This helps companies maintain clear supply chain data. For instance, Walmart has begun using blockchain to boost food safety. This innovation makes it easier to trace problems like contaminated food back to the source. It also exemplifies the wide range of blockchain potential applications beyond finance.

Real Estate Applications of Blockchain Enhance Efficiency

Improving the efficiency of various real estate processes is one of the more significant uses of blockchain technology in a major industry.

For example, transferring property from one owner to another is typically complicated. Buyers and sellers often have to fulfill many different conditions before the transfer may be complete. So how can blockchain be used in this instance? With blockchain applications, smart contracts that update in real time can immediately indicate when a condition has been fulfilled. Real estate professionals who investigate such uses for blockchain now will be able to work much more efficiently as a result.

Blockchain Uses Extend to Making Wills More Transparent and Easy to Handle

Again, transparency is one of blockchain’s most significant benefits. This can simplify the process of dividing an inheritance. When it comes to what blockchain can be used for, a transparent, digital will that automatically updates when certain conditions are met helps prevent disputes.

Another Potential Blockchain Application: Making Medical Records Easily Accessible

Applications of blockchain in the healthcare industry are abundant. Improving record-keeping is simply one of many potential blockchain uses in the medical field.

Typically, a patient’s medical records are handled by their primary physician. Specialists and other healthcare providers must request those records to access them.

This slows down the efficiency of the process. Patients may have to wait before receiving the care they need as a result. In emergency situations, the consequences could be particularly dire.

That is why record-keeping exemplifies how uses of blockchain technology can have a dramatic impact on patient care. When healthcare providers store medical records with blockchain, they can access them more efficiently.

Blockchain Applications are Adding Transparency to Tax Records

How can blockchain be used by business owners? Well, it could help prevent legal trouble.

Keeping tax records via blockchain allows businesses to maintain clear and transparent data if the IRS ever investigates them. This application of blockchain saves time that individuals might otherwise waste handling audits and related processes.

What Else is Blockchain Used For? Preventing Voter Fraud

Issues like voter fraud and hacked elections have attracted significant media attention in recent years. However, governments may not have to worry.

Among the uses of blockchain, voting with the technology adds a degree of transparency that prevents fraud. Because blockchain data is spread out across a network, this example of blockchain technology applications would also make hacking votes essentially impossible.

Clearly, answering the question “What can blockchain used for?” isn’t exactly simple. That’s because there are already so many current uses of current blockchain technology along with blockchain potential applications you may not have considered. As the technology improves, expect the list of uses to grow.

Bobby Gill
Co-Founder & Chief Architect at BlueLabel | + posts

Get the latest from the Blue Label Labs’ blog in your inbox

Subscribe

* indicates required