Applications of Blockchain Technology
Blockchain is a very powerful technology invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 for crypto currency - Bitcoin. It is a digitized public ledger for all type of crypto currency transactions and it stores each transaction in chronological order. Blockchain and Bitcoin are two different technologies and Bitcoin works on Blockchain technology. The scope of this article is to discuss Blockchain technology.
Figure 1: Block Chain Technology [Ref. 1]
Blockchain is a decentralized technology where data is stored in thousands of computers at different locations via the peer-to-peer (P2P) network consisting of heterogeneous systems. P2P means that every node of participant can receive or send information to each other and information is synchronized across the network during its transmission. It is a global network of computers that jointly manages the data and because data is not stored at just one centralised location, this technology serves as a very powerful tool to address issues like data theft, security, loss of data due to system failure etc. One of the key feature is that even if any one of the computer system in the network fails the whole network will not get affected.
Though Blockchain was invented for crypto currency but it has many non-financial applications along with financial applications as shown in figure 2. Some of the applications of crypto currency are as follows:-
Figure 2: Applications of Blockchain [Ref. 2]
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Cross-Borders Money Transactions
To send money globally is not always 100% secure, could be costly and time consuming too. The conventional system is also error prone and open to money laundering etc. Blockchain provides solution to send money across the globe with the help of some companies like Abra, Align Commerce and Bitspark that provide end - to - end Blockchain powered services. -
Encrypting Identity Proof Information
Blockchain can be used to store and protect information pertaining to your identity proofs such as Passport, Birth Certificate, PAN Card, Aadhar Card, Driving Licence, Voter ID cards etc. Blockchain encrypts your information and secure it from the marketing agencies and spammers etc. -
Blockchain in IoT
Today at a very large scale IoT is being used in applications like home automation, wearable electronics, automotive, smart grid, smart retail and supply chain management etc. The devices connected to internet generate data and there is definitely a need to secure this data to prevent any misuse etc. This can be achieved using Blockchain ledger system which ensures that data/information is only received from and delivered to trusted or authentic users only. -
Digital Voting
Voting system in many countries suffers from allegations like invalid or false voting, hacking of electronic voting machines etc. With the help of Blockchain technology these problems can be addressed. The technology would prevent any doctrine by encrypting the votes in online voting system. This way even the voters will know that their votes were correctly accounted for or not.
In today's connected world security of information and data is one of the biggest concerns of the users. With technology like Blockchain that uses encryption and decentralized storage techniques the concern of security could be addressed. With applications in large number of areas, Blockchain is surely going to make an impression on the lives of large number of people around the world.
By: Mr. Shankar S Aggarwal - Assistant Professor (CSE), Chitkara University, H.P.
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