The blockchain technology promises to change the internet as we know it with platforms like Ethereum and Bitcoin leading the way. In this article, we look at Ethereum and how it can change the world, making many services more affordable and — even possible.
Let’s look at a few industries and game-changing use cases for Ethereum…
1. Finance
Like that was the case with internet, the financial sector is set to benefit from Ethereum and the wider blockchain technology.
According to a recent Accenture report, the blockchain technology could save the 10 largest banks $8 to $12 billion a year in infrastructure costs — representing up to 30 percent of their total costs in the sector. And unsurprisingly, most of the major banks are on board to take advantage of Ethereum.
For instance, J.P. Morgan Chase is working on a system dubbed “Quorum” that is designed to toe the line between private and public in the realm of shuffling derivatives and payments. On one hand, it will satisfy regulators who need seamless access to financial goings-on, and on the other — protect privacy of parties that don’t wish to reveal their identities nor the details of their transactions to the general public.
Another example comes from Royal Bank of Scotland, which has built a Clearing and Settlement Mechanism (CSM) based on the Ethereum distributed ledger and smart contract platform.
A different use case for Ethereum is providing banking services to the unbanked and underbanked populations in the developing world.
For instance, Ethereum-based project String aims to provide basic financial services such as checking accounts, consumer loans, and investing in different assets (stocks, bonds, etc) to just about anyone with internet connection.
2. Crowdfunding
Today, individuals and organizations are turning to services such as Kickstarter, IndieGoGo and GoFundMe to crowdfund their ideas. While popular, these services could be disrupted by an Ethereum-based platform called WeiFund. Already in development, it enables interested parties to launch a campaign using one of included contract templates or integrate their own smart contracts.
When it’s up and running, WeiFund will provide a “better service for a lower cost compared to other crowdfunding platform.” This is accomplished thanks to the smart contracts technology that comes included with the Ethereum platform, allowing project managers to make personal agreements with backers. Also included are secure transactions without intermediaries and central authorities.
3. Decentralized global workforce
The blockchain technology is all about decentralization, enabling vendors and users to connect with each other without some company serving as an intermediary. With its support for Decentralized Apps (Dapps), Ethereum provides opportunity for people living all across the world to take part in the global economy without paying a high percentage of their earnings to the middleman.
In that sense we wouldn’t be surprised to see new, Ethereum-based services competing with Airbnb and Uber launching in the months or years to come. With its smart contracts, these sort of services could enable automatic release of funds upon some, previously determined action has taken place. For instance, once the user logs in and out of an apartment, or when he/she reaches the desired location — the funds would be released to the apartment owner or a driver, respectively.
Another example are remittances, which have already started to experience change though we’ll have to wait a little longer to see the high fees of Western Union and MoneyGram going away. Bitcoin is leading this market change but we expect a service employing Ethereum to follow suit in the near future.
Next on the list is the ability to manage a global workforce, which comes with a set of challenges — that is the realm the project called Colony tries to tackle. Said service removes organizational hierarchy, instead asking managers to assign tasks to employees that are then rewarded for their performance with the help smart contracts.
4. Healthcare
Blockchain has a potential to change healthcare in a way that was previously not been possible due to different systems employing different, proprietary technologies. With blockchain, all of us will be able to have our health records easily accessible at all times; and when needed, provide that information to doctors. This will make it easier for people traveling or moving from one state/country to the other.
With blockchain, patient information are always a click away, but protected with a private key that could further be tied to a biometric information for extra security. This, we guess, is one of the reasons why health is included in the list of industries to be tackled by the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA).
Some of the companies that are exploring the use of the blockchain technology in healthcare include IBM Watson, HealthTap, Hashed Health and PokitDok.
The last company on the list is especially interesting as it develops solutions that help healthcare organizations simplify patient check in, handle health insurance administration, calculate out of pocket estimates, and streamline other business processes associated with medical care.
“Outdated, centralized infrastructure cannot support real time integration of new services and is heading to obsoletion,” Lisa Maki, co-founder and CEO of PokitDok, said in early 2017.
5. Client data protection
With blockchain, identity theft could be a thing of the past — which also happens to be the reason why the technology is well poised to be adopted by healthcare organizations.
The Ethereum platform — as well as a few other blockchain-based platforms — can be effectively used for ensuring high-level security.
One solution, KYC-Chain, allows users to manage their digital identity securely, while enabling businesses and financial institutions to manage customer data in a reliable and easy manner. The data that needs to be shared — can be shared — but in a way that is compliant to regulatory requirements.
And again, protecting user information is also something big companies are interested in developing further through the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance.
And that’s just a start…
The nature of blockchain and solid foundation of Ethereum paves the way for many new services, some of which we can’t even imagine today. But we could imagine a new kind of eBay launching with lower fees for all parties, as well as any other marketplace that will directly connect buyers and sellers.
We will be on the lookout for new use cases of Ethereum and the overall blockchain technology, and if you know some other example how it/they will change the world, feel free to share that information via the comments form below. Let’s start the conversation.