Industries

Blockchain technology is not just a technology for creating electronic currencies, but will affect many industries in the future. Here we will go through the most common areas today and how blockchains are likely to affect them.

Currencies

The most common area of use for blockchains today is cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, NANO, Ripple, Litecoin, Stellar and Monero. It is one of the very best areas because blockchains cannot be affected or manipulated afterwards. Transactions are small in amount of data and you often want to be able to track them afterwards.

Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT is about billions of machines talking to each other in the future. Not just computers, but coffee machines, washing machines, cars and wind turbines. The revolution has already begun, but is predicted to have a bright future.

In a future where Über's cars are paid directly by passengers and can use these assets to automatically pay customs duties and pay for the electricity that charges it, or where the coffee machine orders coffee when it starts to run out. Where a house can pay for its electricity directly to the neighbor's solar panel.

It is clear that a digital currency is required for IoT, and also currencies that make microtransactions possible. Therefore, it is common for IoT crypto projects to be based on DAG technology. Examples of these are IOTA, Internet Node Token and IoT Chain.

Logistics

One of the best areas to apply a blockchain for is logistics. Knowing where your package is in the process between the factory and you can be important, but even more important is it between different factories and companies to track packages.

There are industries that are particularly vulnerable, such as the pharmaceutical and food industries. Where incorrect handling and shipping methods affect quality. Today, there are blockchains that are specially developed to monitor temperatures, humidity, drains, bacteria, etc. Where measuring instruments communicate directly with the blockchain, so that with an app you can scan a package of meat and both see that the quality is ok, but also where it comes from, what the cow's name was, what the farmer lives, how long the shipping took, etc.

Some of these blockchains are VeChain, Internet Node Token, Morpheus Networks, WaltonChain and OriginTrail.

Games

Games are predicted to make frequent use of blockchains in the future. Instead of transactions of coins, you can instead imagine transactions with playing cards, or in game items such as weapons. It is already common today to buy accessories for money and use them in games, and there are marketplaces where these can be exchanged between players.

Why go through a third party when you can switch directly between two parties? And why have accessories that only work in one game when several games can use the same blockchain?

Examples of this type of blockchain are ENjin Coin, WAX and DMarket.

Betting

Ordinary cryptocurrencies can of course be used for gambling and betting, but there are of course specific ones that are just for this purpose. This is an industry with dubious real purpose for that reason. It is common for new cryptocurrencies to be created for a specific purpose, when a more general coin could actually be used. It then works for market purposes and you get stuck in their financial system.

Examples of these are FunFair, CasinoCoin and BitDice.

Charities

Blockchains are brilliant for charities because every transaction is public, traceable and can not be changed afterwards. Gone are the days when organizations can deceive benevolent people, or perhaps worse - those who need the money the most. It can also act as an investment platform, where you can issue microloans to poor people who build businesses.

Two of these are GoHelpFund and Helpico.

Social networks

Many believe that the social networks of the future will rely on blockchains. Why not? Every post and every message could be on a blockchain that cannot be manipulated by anyone. The area of use is doubtful, however, but works well as a gimmick. However, it can be a good idea to be able to send currencies within a social network without leaving the site. For example, send money to family and friends directly through the chat you usually use. Facebook's Libra will work much like this when it launches.

Another idea that is worth taking seriously is to be able to authenticate oneself against a social network with the help of blockchain. Where one's identity cannot be touched by anyone else and where one can share identity between several different social networks. An example of this is the Dock project.

Examples of social crypto networks are Kin, YOYOW and Friendz.

Events

You have probably bought tickets at some point from a private individual because you missed the official sale. Maybe you even happened to be cheated when you paid the person but did not get any tickets, or got tickets that have already been used.

The idea is that the blockchain would make it possible for a secure secondary marketplace where you can see directly on the chain when a ticket has been bought and used. Where you can see who owns it and that the ownership changes place when buying, and where the purchase and change of ticket owners takes place in the same transaction.

Some of these are XMax, Viberate, EventChain and Patron.

Artificial intelligence

Many projects throw in buzz words to attract investors. One of these has been the combination of blockchains and artificial intelligence. It is thought that artificial intelligences could gather their knowledge and their algorithms in one place. But in reality, AI requires huge amounts of data that move at lightning speed - something that blockchains are ill-suited for.

Some of these are Cortex, SingularityNET, DeepBrain Chain and Matrix AI.

Electricity

It has become popular to use blockchains to keep track of electricity consumption and charge and buy energy. The idea is that you can have solar panels on the roof and get paid directly by others who use the electricity you yourself could not use. And these payments can then be used when it has been cloudy for a while and you yourself need to buy electricity.

Examples of these are Power Ledger, Restart Energy and Electrify.Asia.

Real estate

There are a bunch of blockchains that are focused on putting digital value on real estate. It can be about owning a percentage of a building, or renting out your home like RnB. One can discuss the value of having special blockchains for this.

Examples of these are Propy, LockTrip and Bee Token.