Blockchain technology has been on the verge of enterprise implementation across many different fields. These include financial institutions, supply chains, and much more. Being able to transact secure data and currency is just the forefront of the technology. There are many benefits of blockchain technology which include process labor savings, faster data and currency distribution, secure and verifiable data trails, along with much more. We all learnt about blockchain from the emergence of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies into the mainstream eye within the last 5-7 years or so. This brought us the first use case for this technology and how it can be used to transact money in a secure and alternative way to cash or legacy money transfer methods.
Although the intense crash of these currencies following their initial hype to calm down, it is now time to focus on the incredible technology that allows these to work in a secure and transparent manor. Blockchain technology brings us a lot of different use cases that will be exciting to follow, as we are on the edge of widespread implementation.
Financial Institutions
Blockchain’s main use and as we now mainly know it as is for digital currency exchange. In an article from Forbes’ Technology Council, the idea of how blockchain’s position will fare up against the large financial institutions. Blockchain has allowed many new financial solutions to grow and has caught the attention of many institutions. The technology is rapidly increasing in popularity, and fintech companies are developing different use cases to be implemented into the traditional type of banking system. This does not mean adding cryptocurrency as a way to store tour money at your local bank, but capitalizing off the transactional benefits that the technology provides.
Increasing the speed of money transfers without the need for human intervention is a big benefit of the implementation. There would be much cost savings involved, as transactions would not need manual verification as it is done digitally through nodes in the network. Decreasing the overall length of this process improves the customer experience as well.
Transparency is drastically improved, with the path of the data to be traced on the blockchain. This makes it easier for any one customer or any agencies to be able to do quicker and concise audits, without needing to do a full-on investigation into a bank’s payment origins, which is lengthy and tricky.
There will most likely not be a complete replacement of the banks we know today, but a hybrid mesh with the implementation of blockchain, to improve the system for both the customer and institution.
Supply Chains
IBM did a mini case study of French automaker Renault Group’s supply chain digital transformation to the blockchain. The main driver of this was aligning all of the different regulations that automobile manufacturers are held to, and to be able to actively distribute this information at any point in the supply chain. Renault implemented a digital ledger platform from XCEED, a blockchain software company. This system allows the manufacturer to share and track data regarding vehicles compliance, managing tens of thousands of parts on a car from hundreds of different suppliers. This allows the company to be very transparent with both consumers and regulators, which creates a lot less room for violations and safety issues all together. IBM implemented the system into the company and allowed the company to have a centralized system for all ends of the supply chain to exchange data with. Renault Group encourages other members of the automotive industry to follow along. “That’s the point of blockchain projects,” says Panciatici. “The value is not for one entity. The value is for each member of the ecosystem.” – VP of Blockchain Projects at Renault Group.
State Government Agencies
California’s DMV is partnering up with Tezos and Oxhead Alpha, blockchain software firms, to build a blockchain platform, storing vehicles titles and digitizing car sales. This is a big step forward for blockchain, as this would seriously help promote its versatility if done properly. The goal of this project is to better the security and validity of vehicle sales, simplify the registration experience, and store the vehicle titles as NFT’s to encrypt and secure the vehicle’s ownership to the rightful person.
I never really saw a useful NFT use case, but I can really see the development of this project really opening up a lot of different avenues for them to be used. This project has started in early 2020, facing some stoppages because of the pandemic. They have developed a private instance of this blockchain and is currently operational. This blockchain will being operating in the background, but has plans for customer-facing apps as well. An application would be to allow the transfer of NFT titles, with the DMV acting as the facilitator to ensure all obligations are completed.
It is really cool to see the current state of this technology and where it is progressing towards. There will be lots of things that benefit consumers and companies along the road of this innovation. I look forward to see what these early implications set the tone for in the very near future!
Sources
https://www.ibm.com/case-studies/renault/