Blockchain: Outside Cryptocurrency
Blockchains can serve many purposes besides issuing and transferring cryptocurrencies,
– Rob Viglione, co-founder of Horizen and CEO of Horizen Labs
In a talk with industry experts, The Fintech Times share the adoption of blockchain outside of cryptocurrency and how it could revolutionize multiple industries.
Blockchain In Healthcare
Whenever you move to a new city, you may be required to transfer your medical records to a new GP or doctor, which is already a time-comsuming process. Plus, doctors usually do not place such transfer requests on the top of their priority list, so the process may take a very long time.
According to NHSInform, the transfer of physical medical records in the UK can take up to two months, while electronic transfer usually takes two days. On the other hand, US law requires medical providers to complete your request and give you a copy of your records within 30 days of receiving it (or to send them to your new doctor). In the event they cannot accomplish this, they must provide you a written notice explaining why there was a delay and when you will expect to receive your records.
By using blockchain technology, the transfer can be instantaneous, since a patient can access their records themselves without the need to have the former doctor send them. The information is stored and encrypted in the blockchain for the user to own and control.
Collin Plume, the CEO and co-founder of My Digital Money mentions that with this type of access, it makes switching doctors so much easier for an individual. All they have to do is retrieve their medical records through the blockchain and pass the information and data to their new doctors, all without the participation or intervention of the former doctor or hospital. This type of data access and transfer can also be applied when buying and selling a car or when renewing a license.
Donna Parisi Partner and Head of Fintech and Financial Services at Shearman & Sterling shared an example of such technology being used. The government of Estonia is currently running a digitalised eGovernment system on blockchain. It ensures the security of government registers, from healthcare and patient health records to digital IDs, property records and even a digital court system.
Such a system supports UN Sustainable Development Goal #16, supporting justice and strong institutions, and SDG#3, promoting good health and well-being for all ages.
Smart Contracts
A smart contract is a code that runs on its own and executes a set of instructions which are then verified on the blockchain. In many decentralised applications (dApps) they are a core technological component. Smart contracts possess the key characteristic of being trustless, meaning the need for third-party intermediaries can be reduced or eliminated almost completely.
Take real estate as an example. To save the parties time and money when a property is tokenised, most, if not all, of the required records can be done using smart contracts. In doing so, hidden costs such as closing fees, title transfers and broker fees will be reduced or even completely eliminated. No longer having a need for a third party.
Kristjan Kangro, CEO and Founder of cryptocurrency trading platform, Change, talked about the interesting applications of blockchain. Most of which are centered around increasing the speed and visibility of complex transactions.
In the UK, companies are working to enable the buying and selling of property using blockchain technology. Currently, buying and selling of property can take up to three months. Some of these companies claim that using blockchain technology can cut the time down to as short as three days
Russell Starr, CEO of DeFi Technologies, states that blockchain will affect the way one purchases a car, a house, invests and even makes money in the future. Ending off with a quote, “ Everything you can think of will be altered by the blockchain evolution.”
Source: The Fintech Times