When we talk about blockchain technology, the laymen audience tends to automatically associate it with tokens or cryptocurrency. The reality is that blockchain has countless possible uses that have direct and concrete applications in a large number of industries, both in the public and private spheres. To cite just a few examples, it can be implemented in sectors such as financial, insurance, digital advertising, supply chain, health, education, Internet of things, etc. It also has the ability to be used to generate positive social impact, as in the production of food or medicine.
Mediledger, for example, is a proposal based on blockchain technology with the intention of generating end-to-end traceability in the drug production process. On the other hand, Grassroots is a project that seeks to make beef meat traceable. Also, many companies in different countries are exploring solutions, such as Hyperledger, to allow consumers to analyse the production cycle of a food.
Another specific case is from the donation industry. The traceability that blockchain technology can provide makes the process more transparent to all parties involved. This is being pioneered by the likes of Givetrack, Humaniq, and Circles of Angels.
It can also be applied as a solution to the unbanked world population, collaborating exponentially with the banking process. Currently, there are billions of people without any access to the financial or credit system. Projects like Banqu are a clear example of how to facilitate the process of creating digital identities that, in line with proposals like Mojaloop, would allow the banking access of millions of people. Another possibility is its use to reward scientific research.
Curecoin is interesting in this regard, as well as Orvium, Frankl, and Eureka Token. In a collaborative way, it seeks to share, accelerate, and reward scientific research by generating a global information layer through its use. And of course, education is not left out.
Universal online certification
The immutability and guarantee of veracity that this blockchain provides could lead to the creation of a new system for issuing and certifying both official documents and academic degrees, which would allow more people to access quality education. Odem, Tutellus, and Edgecoin are some of the pioneers that are doing great work in this area.
Preservation of knowledge
Due to the immutability feature that the system presents, it increases the possibility of safeguarding all reports or studies published within the platform. Once inside, the information can be safely preserved, facilitating access to the publications for all users who are part of a platform.
No more plagiarism
Since it is not possible to modify documents without the approval of most of the nodes, the idea of content plagiarism could become part of the past, thanks to the blockchain. The traceability of this system allows the root of an idea, as well as its author, to be recorded in an immutable way, thus being able to demonstrate who was the original author behind each work.
