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Retail Technology Review:
The Key Business Applications for Blockchain.
By John Sweeny, freelance writer.
The global blockchain market was valued at $6.10 billion 2021, while it’s forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 62.4% between now and 2030.
This highlights just how prevalent blockchain is becoming in the modern age, with this technology having started with the cryptocurrency poster boy Bitcoin before expanding into fintech and similar professional services.
In 2022, blockchain technology has a broad range of potential applications and marketplaces. We’ll explore some of these in the article below, while asking how blockchain has impacted specific industries.
What is Blockchain?
In simple terms, blockchain describes a distributed ledger or database that’s shared among different nodes, each of which form part of a computer network.
The database functionality of blockchain enables it to effectively store digital information, in individual ‘blocks’ that are inextricably linked via cryptography. It’s this cutting-edge technology that underpins the cryptocurrency marketplace, with blockchain powering tokens such as Bitcoin and creating a transparent and immutable record of all transactions.
This leads us onto the decentralised nature of blockchain, which allows individual nodes and individuals to validate transactions rather than relying on a central or third-party point of control.
This remains one of the key benefits of blockchain, which offers a stark contrast with traditional financial systems that are dominated and governed by central banks.
Blockchain’s Key Business Applications
In order to provide further context, let’s take a look at blockchain’s broader applications outside of cryptocurrency. These include:
- #1. Supply Chain Management: While global supply chains have been adversely affected by Brexit (in the UK) and the coronavirus pandemic, the use of decentralised blockchain ledgers have improved transparency and real-time data processing in this space. Ultimately, blockchain has been used to create a single, secure supply chain system, in which individual blocks and datasets can be captured and viewed in real-time (from the internal processing of orders to delivery schedules).
- #2. Import More Seamless Regulatory Frameworks: Regulators operate across an array of markets; from insurance and lending to the global investment market. By integrating blockchain technology, regulators can create transparent frameworks for relevant parties, while leveraging real-time data in a bid to save both time and money. This can also aid the settlement of legal conflicts in and out of court, especially those that pertain to business and technology.
- #3. Financial Management: Finally, blockchain can be leveraged to better protect sensitive datasets, including financial information. It can also help to safeguard and streamline financial transactions across a broad range of transactions, from online and ewallet payments to crypto or iGaming transactions. In short, blockchain creates an immutable ledger that’s far more effective at highlighting and preventing fraud, while deterring such practices completely over time.
