The impact of Blockchain technology on business is already visible. Blockchain is changing the very foundation of our economic and social systems and many experts agree that its place in the future of commerce and business is quite significant. There has been a lot of hype though about Blockchain including what it can do and its positive effects.
In order to give you a better understanding of what we are talking about here, we have decided to break everything down for you below.
What is Blockchain?
Blockchain is a real-time ledger used to record anything from contracts, financial transactions, information about supply chains, to records of physical assets. It’s an internet-based technology that records all these things in real time. Think of it as a decentralized database where no one person or one organization is in charge. Blockchain brings many benefits that can revolutionize the business and finance world as we know it.
The technology has established a peer-to-peer network within the same system and in the process, it has cut off middlemen and intermediaries who would have otherwise been involved in the same transactions. This reduces the complexity of using disparate ledgers significantly.
Let’s take an example. If you were to transact a stock trade using Blockchain technology, it would settle in just a few minutes. There’s no need to have any other third-party process this transaction so there’s no wait time and no additional costs.
What You Need to Know About Blockchain
To help you make sense of this technology and what it can do, there are a few important things you need to know about it.
● Blockchain was pioneered by Bitcoin, a digital money exchange system that so far has over 8 million users. It’s the success of Bitcoin and its disruptive effects on the financial industry that helped pioneer the launch of Blockchain.
● Blockchain can either be public or private.
● The technology has received major backing from key players in the tech industry with massive investments going towards financing its growth and development. IBM and Microsoft are two of the tech giants that have invested a lot into the technology.
● By 2024, the global value of the Blockchain market is expected to hit a tune of around $20 billion and so far, at least 90% of all the major banks in Europe and North America are already exploring available Blockchain solutions.
● Blockchain offers a more transparent and secure way of doing transactions. It’s an open and safe ledger for anyone to use for any transaction or record. The technology is also real time in the sense that all changes made to a ledger are visible to all the participants within the network.
● Experts are confident that Blockchain will disrupt the banking and financial industry. At the moment, it’s estimated that banks and financial institutions that integrate the use of Blockchain in their operations could save somewhere between $8 billion and $12 billion annually. One-third of C-level executives have already started using Blockchain technology or are considering it.
● Blockchain is likely to take away jobs. However, it will still create new opportunities for income generation.
Well, these are some of the things you must know about Blockchain, and many experts agree that this technology could be the next big thing after Bitcoin.
