Blockchain is going to change our lives. But to what extent?
You’ve probably read claims before that ‘blockchain is going to save the world.’ Certainly, they seem a bit inflated – and that’s because they are. Blockchain is not going to change the world on its own. It is, however, going to revolutionise several industries for the better.
The reality of blockchain
Blockchain has the potential to change the financial, technological and governmental spheres. It is easy to think that blockchain, as a disruptive new technology, will entirely transform the way the world functions. But it won’t change the world on its own.
Contrary to its prevalent hype, blockchain’s impact on a society will probably be a lot more subtle. It will be tied to security, transparency and traceability. For example, the ability to trace sustainability and child labour in supply chains (which our platform STAMP does) or to bring secure communication and transparency into government. These might seem like small things, but in reality they will change the way we consume.
For instance, when you see a product that claims to be Fairtrade, organic or local, you have to trust that they are being honest. With blockchain, you don’t, because information is uploaded is permanent, tamper-proof and inherently transparent. One day soon, we could go as far as scanning an item with an app and being able to see its origins, its production and its manufacturing.
Practical applications
The best, and most realistic, applications of blockchain are practical ones. These are applications that change the way we do things without forcing us to make radical changes. Bringing blockchain into supply chains or into the way we shop is a simple way to do this. Implementing cryptocurrency in normal life, however, is vastly different, and requires people to re-evaluate the way they use and exchange money.
This isn’t to say that cryptocurrency will never become popularised. If it does, it just may take longer than blockchain technology.
Blockchain will realistically help us more in every day life. It will change our lives – and potentially the world – but in smaller ways. This might sound less interesting that blockchain completely changing things, but in reality, it works out better for us. The transition into blockchain will need to be gradual for it to succeed.
How can it benefit us?
Blockchain could benefit us in simple ways such as:
- Making sure the product is as advertised (Fairtrade, organic)
- Tracing supply chains to ensure that child labour, forced labour and conflict minerals have not been used
- Making communication more secure
- Helping businesses exchange contracts without intermediaries and increasing a company’s auditability
Fundamentally, blockchain can change the way we do things, but it’s not going to happen without our support of transparency and traceability in the products we purchase. You can found out how we’re changing the world with blockchain by clicking here.