Satoshi Nakamoto published – in the midst of the financial crisis of 2008 – the Bitcoin whitepaper, with which the world acquired a new face: not only the possibility of an additional instrument to transmit value such as cryptocurrencies, but the existence of the the same platform that makes them possible: blockchain.
The so-called “block chain technology” is a decentralized, unalterable database whose security lies in cryptography that, with today’s technology, is practically unbreakable; it is a book that registers all the movements, open to the participants and that requires the consensus of more than half of the network to make changes.
It seems that the financial sector is where blockchain has found the best reception, in particular, to solve needs such as the management of low-cost transactions, as well as the possibility of bringing a financial system closer to sectors of the population that lack a bank account but They do have a smart phone and internet connection.
However, there is growing interest in this technology: at least 57% of the projects in Latin America have focused on the use of blockchain, which according to Endeavor, is expected to be in the period from 2017 to 2022, this technological platform have an annual growth rate of 42.8%, which will result in a global income of at least 13 thousand 960 million dollars in 2022.
We already see some aspects that are driving these numbers. The public sector itself has shown interest in the potential of information management to facilitate all kinds of procedures: from access to information such as identity documents, accessibility of bids, modernization of aspects related to social security or mobility.
One of the biggest success stories in this regard is Estonia, which since 2008 has been researching and adopting similar technologies, which allowed it to put online, transparently, openly and securely, all public records of the different government entities , including national security issues, as well as commercial regulation.
Every day is an opportunity to generate critical mass regarding innovations and application of this technology on a day-to-day basis: from having visibility of a manufacturing chain -which ends with the production of a car- to the history of the vehicle that generates information as the acquisition of insurance, maintenance, which parts have been replaced, etc.
At the moment of being resold, the new buyer will have certainty of having all this information transparent, reliable and safe; giving him the security of the conditions in which he is acquiring the good.
Another option is smart contracts, which are carried between two or more parties, which are activated and encoded under certain conditions: the payment of a good or service, a previous deposit, an inheritance or a donation. The advantage is that the facts are recorded immediately: if we talk about a payment, both parties are notified and if there is a breach, a fine immediately enters.
So, what sectors benefit from this technology?
The financial sector
It is the most fertile ground as the cryptocurrency boom shows . There is a lot of potential in the possibility of generating solutions to provide safe and efficient transactions, which operate in any part of the country (and the world), practically in real time.
The health sector
This industry also lives a renewal thanks to the blockchain: this technology allows to have unique systems of highly secure records, in which those involved as insurance, doctors and patients can access the data they need, highlighting that the owner of the information is who authorizes access.
The public sector and governments
These branches can provide better services to their citizens, as Estonia has done: keeping all information in a single, secure and decentralized database allows citizens to have access to increasingly agile and efficient services.
And what about the arts?
Within the creative industries there are also blockchain initiatives such as those in which PPC ad platforms are removed (pay per click) and instead, one decides to pay with cryptocurrencies to the creators of the content that users enjoy.
The question of whether blockchain will change our reality is behind us. It’s just a matter of time to ask “how much?”
