The industries blockchain technology will disrupt are those that deal with large amounts of data and transactions of any kind. Many companies around the world are betting on blockchain technology to improve their operations. The technology which allows cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin to exist has many applications outside the cryptocurrency world, which is currently enjoys a lot of attention. In fact, many agree that while cryptocurrencies are likely to see a decrease in popularity and value in the next couple of years, blockchain technology will emerge as the real winner of this trend and will be the largest disruptor since the Internet.
Blockchain technology represents a decentralized and distributed ledger or database that allows transactions between two parties to be executed quickly and without the implication of third-parties. Moreover, parties can execute many agreements automatically through “smart contracts”, a computer protocol that can digitally facilitate the execution of a contract. Therefore, the technology should allow for faster transactions, faster execution, especially in processes that are highly automated, such as supply chain management, or logistics.
All transactions executed through blockchain are irreversible and are stored permanently in the decentralized ledger. Due to decentralization, blockchain also assures that records are safe and data cannot be hacked or stolen.
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In this way, the implications of blockchain technology are immense and will affect a lot of processes both in the business world and in our day-to-day lives.
Many big companies are already working on applications of blockchain technology with successful results. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) is working on various blockchain-based projects in many industries blockchain technology will disrupt, such as logistics, finance, food safety, and Internet of Things. Recently, International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) revealed that it is working on 400 projects related to blockchain technology, having partnered with 63 clients.
Visa Inc (NYSE:V), Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA), and Moneygram International Inc (NASDAQ:MGI) are each working on their own platforms to facilitate cross-border money transfers and payments using blockchain and most major banks are exploring blockchain as a way to enable faster transactions and reduce costs.
Smaller enterprises can also benefit from blockchain technology, but don’t have the resources to build the necessary infrastructure. To address their needs, cloud providers like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL), which already enjoy the benefits of subscription-based models of Software-as-a-Service, Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service, have started to offer clients Blockchain-as-a-Service, a platform that allows developing and testing blockchain applications.
So, the blockchain technology has a lot of potential as we can already see from the interest that it gets from big companies, in addition to smaller startups that are trying to disrupt smaller niches. Let’s take a look at a list of 20 industries blockchain technology will disrupt.
20. Charity
Charity is very important in our days and hundreds of billions of dollars pour from donnors into various organizations. Blockchain technology can help make charities more transparent, since it will be possible to track every dollar that was donated, thus increasing the trust that the public has in charities. In addition, the technology will improve the way many charities operate, as a lot of transactions will be automated, which will reduce the overhead costs.
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