Outstanding achievements are usually a subject of derision before they become the object of emulation and envy. Our society is designed to follow strict conventions, and deviation from the norm generates harsh criticism and unfair assessments.

Our society has functioned with this mode of operation for a long time. Although every generation claims to be different, we usually are drawn to our primal instincts and are very quick to attack innovations rather than embrace them.

This article seeks to provide an exciting outlook on a technology that has the potential to revolutionize our perception of work, relationships and social interactions- the blockchain technology.

Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology is no longer a new concept per se; we all seem to have an idea of what this concept represents. After all, our favourite Twitter influencer talks about it alongside our social entrepreneurs. Cryptocurrency, NFTs, Defi, etc., are all offshoots of this fantastic technology; however, many people fail to comprehend how relevant this evolving innovation is poised to become.

Life is a journey of variables, events and outcomes; our present is influenced by events in our past, and our future will be equally shaped by our current happenings. As we all know, Blockchain technology was introduced via Bitcoin as a decentralized ledger technology that allows trustless digital transactions. The objective was for it to become the foundation of a new financial order, distinct from the corrupt and exploitative one we were used to. The intention of the creator- Satoshi Nakamoto, was to give power back to the people.

In the past 12–14 years, the blockchain ecosystem has witnessed several eventful moments, and the ecosystem has adjusted appropriately. The growth in the industry has been so immense that one might find it difficult to believe we are yet to clock two decades. This tremendous growth we have witnessed so far gives us the ability to project into the future to estimate how much more can be done with this technology and the amazing community at our disposal.

Opportunities in Blockchain Technology

The use cases of blockchain technology transcend anything we can conceive with our minds or intellect; however, for the sake of this article, we hope to identify specific key sectors that are in dire need of the solutions that blockchain technology can provide.

These industries include the following:

1. Finance Industry: Through blockchain technology, financial services would become more user-oriented, transparent and secure. The current global financial model has several loopholes enforced by the centralized data storage system. This has led to several cases of customer dissatisfaction and damage to client-service providers’ relationships.

   Blockchain technology would address these significant loopholes, thereby improving the efficiency of transactions, reducing the cost of financial operations and providing robust security for economic activities. Currently, projects are already ongoing to achieve the possibilities listed above: R3 LLC is a notable blockchain company comprising an ecosystem of over 300 companies working to develop distributed applications on top of Corda, an open-source blockchain platform. Financial companies such as Barclays, Credit Suisse, State Street, Bank of America, BNY Mellon, Citi, Deutsche Bank, National Australia Band, Wells Fargo and Royal Bank of Canada make up its consortium. In addition, blockchain technology can be used for fraud reduction, loan processing, improved customer service and transparent working operations.

2. Healthcare Industry: The Healthcare sector is one of the sectors where accurate record-keeping is highly required. Health records of patients from twenty years ago are necessary to appropriately address new presenting complaints to arrive at a precise diagnosis and effective management. Unfortunately, the healthcare industry has faced a vast challenge involving sharing and putting away medical information and records. There have been several cases of missing documents, blunders and extortion; these have brought distrust between patients and healthcare service providers and have led to preventable mortality.

   According to reports, between the years 2009 and 2017, 176 million patient records were exposed to data breaches. Blockchain technology can rebuild the healthcare industry by providing accessible, transparent, and secure medical records, thereby supporting accurate medical diagnosis and treatment. Companies like BurstIQ, Medical Chain, Fanthom, etc., are already creating impressive frameworks to support the healthcare industry by incorporating blockchain technology.

3. Sports: Participation in sports events by supporters, popularly referred to as fans, has enabled the growth of the renowned sports of today. It has been well documented that many sporting leagues and competitions receive funding from attendance during events, shirt sales, and television viewing rights, among other sources.

   These funding sources are backed by the solid relationship between fans and their respective clubs or sports icons. This relationship has faced several challenges in recent times as fans have expressed displeasure with the method of ticket allocations for sporting events. A notable example was the 2022 Champions League final match, in which several sections of the fans were unable to enter the stadium because of a high level of disorganization with the ticket allocation leading to confusion and immense dissatisfaction.

   To avoid similar events in the future, several sporting leagues are already accommodating the possibility of NFT ticketing. Last month, the French Government’s Olympics envoy Michel Cadot sent in a 30-page report to the Prime Minister’s office on various ways of improving security measures and supporters’ satisfaction by incorporating blockchain technology in the form of NFT ticketing system for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, as well as the Rugby World Cup next year. In the future, similar approaches may be deployed by prominent leagues and sports tournaments.

4. Legal Industry: Through blockchain technology, litigation involving land disputes, settling issues regarding the wills of the deceased or some other documentation can be abolished. The technology will allow adequate storage and authentication of reports and documents, thereby addressing these recurring issues in the society.

   Let’s look at a regular occurrence in our neighbourhoods. An individual buys a piece of property unknown to him that certain information regarding this piece of land has been withheld from him. He believes his documents are authentic enough to serve as proof of ownership in a court of law in the event of land disputes, only to find out that the papers he received were fake and the whole business operation was a scam. Stories like this permeate our social space, but they can be avoided if details of land ownership are stored on the blockchain, thereby allowing for provenance tracking and verification of true ownership. In addition, the technology could eradicate prolonged court disputes involving digital inheritance and other forms of ownership.

Closing thoughts

Blockchain technology is the gift that keeps on giving, and the potential of this technology is inexhaustible. At Match Chain, we have already consistently how blockchain technology would revolutionize the social network space; this is why we did not make it the subject of this article.

Instead, we focused on the other possibilities this technology will unveil, and we hope you comprehend how immense this shift would be for our civilization. This article commenced with a description of primal instincts to make revolutionary innovations a subject of derision before we eventually embrace them. Currently, many people scoff at blockchain technology and its several use cases citing reasons such as scalability and global scepticism; however, the ecosystem is undeterred.

We are designing the future, and our conviction is rock-solid that the future is blockchain!

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