In this week’s “Penning Down The Thoughts” series, Jimmie is taking the Pen team (and the readers), through a series of actual use cases, ending with a full list of blockchain and ledger use cases. Blockchain technology has since its inception post 08’ financial meltdown, been questioned for its actual value in the “real world”, and we’re here to put those concerns to rest. Here’s a walk through of how big corporations are applying the technology to their infrastructure and how it might change the way we do business in the future. So, without further ado, have a good read.
THE BIG QUESTIONS
Do we need more than one blockchain? Is Bitcoin or Ethereum, not enough? If just one blockchain and it's going to fit everything, it's almost like disregarding the nature of evolution. Meanwhile, big corporations have been studying cryptocurrency. And they think that Bitcoin's underlying database is where the magic is. The motto in the boardrooms is Blockchain YES, Bitcoin NO!
BMW is looking at using the blockchain for its future fleet of electric cars to interact with public transport. Lufthansa wants to see if the blockchain can better track parts and maintenance. And Deutsche Telekom is using smart contracts to negotiate tariffs for roaming costs with other telecoms. if we can store trade certificates and shipping documents on the blockchain, you can check to see where that organic fruit came from, who grew them, who packed them, and who shipped them.
Besides, the Internet of things needs a ledger of all those things.
CENTRALIZATION
Well, that's the idea behind private centralized blockchains, maintained and controlled by corporations. A famous example is the Walmart supply chain trial, in which they're working with IBM. That's completely centralized. They use a blockchain-derived product called Hyperledger, but all the nodes reside on the IBM cloud, and they're all administered by Walmart, and the supplier is used because Walmart told them to. It's a centralized database system! But they marketed it as Blockchain.
So that means they wouldn't have got a New York Times headline if they just said database. Blockchain is becoming a BUZZ word, and most don't know how or how they are going to use it in their operation. I believe that from now on and 5-10 years into the future, we will see a big increase in the use of blockchain and metaverse in companies around the world. My guesstimate is, 90 % of the AAA brands are using it in some way in their daily business.
You might wonder what's the point of a blockchain if it's controlled by a company.
Well, I compare it to the open Internet versus company-owned Intranets. They both exist.
DECENTRALIZATION
Meanwhile, Facebook announced a cryptocurrency for their two billion users. Such a system might be more efficient than a public blockchain, but there's a downside. Some Governments banned it within weeks. Right now, the ways, pieces of paper, that are being shifted around, that doesn't make any sense. That infrastructure needs to be replaced.
Why occupy Wall Street when we can build a new one on the blockchain instead? In the future decentralized finance, stock certificates, corporate bonds, insurance policies, property debts, and mortgages, can all be turned into crypto tokens and made tradable 24/7.
I think some examples of this that we're seeing now are MakerDao, Binance which has Binance Coin, that's a much bigger opportunity because it represents something new.
USECASES
Why do I need a blockchain for this? Can't I invest in a solar farm without this new fancy tech? The blockchain acts as a kind of asset register and income register, and in tokenizing the asset, it becomes tradable on an exchange. You might own two or three solar panels of a thousand, you know, in a solar farm, and you would receive the income associated with that amount of ownership.”
Earlier this year I gathered and made a list with more than 250 different solutions, for 39 different industries to use blockchain in their businesses. Here are a few examples, and by using the link you can see the entire list.
1. Cryptocurrencies 2. Supply chain management 3. Identity verification 4. Voting systems 5. Real estate 6. Health care 7. Education 8. Food safety 9. Carbon credits 10. Music Industry 11. Art 12. Science 13. Social media 14. Ride-sharing 15. Energy 16. Charity / Non-profits 17. Insurance 18. Government 19. Online advertising 20. Retail 21. Manufacturing 22. Shipping 23. Travel 24. Rentals 25. Personal Finance 26. Online marketplaces 27. Public transportation 28. Cloud storage 29. Cybersecurity 30. Legal 31. HR 32. Telecommunication 33. Energy trading 34. Online gaming 35. Lotto, Poker Slots games 36. Crowdfunding 37. Intellectual property 38. Data management 39. Taxes.
Click here for the FULL LIST of detailed solutions and then we'll "talk" again next week.
“Penning for the thoughts” is a series compiled by the CEO and Co-Founder of Penning, Jimmie Hansen Steinbeck. A compilation of his vast experience, knowledge, failures, successes, know-how & ideas. Jimmie has spent the last decade (almost since the birth of bitcoin), working in the crypto, blockchain (also known as Web3) space, as an investor, entrepreneur, and expert advisor to numerous crypto companies.