Blockchain uses cryptography to link validated transactions into immutable groups or blocks. Once a transaction is agreed to by the blockchain network consensus algorithm, it is incredibly difficult to modify or delete the transaction. The Finance world refers to this as a distributed ledger that is append-only and globally visible.

Some Blockchain implementations like Ethereum can be used to deploy transactions that contain code, commonly referred to as Smart Contracts. Because it is contained in a blockchain transaction, once it is deployed, the code cannot be modified. This helps ensure that the parties using the smart contract know that the code they are calling is unchanged from the originally deployed version. SmartContracts underpin the future of secure, borderless, and efficient financial transactions.

Blockchain burst onto the tech scene in 2008 and grew in popularity as the underlying technology for BitCoin as a store of value and a Permissionless medium of exchange. As interest in blockchain expanded, additional blockchain implementations such as Ethereum were introduced to implement Ownership tokens (NFTs) and Contracts (SmartContracts). Additional projects evolved as a layer on top of Ethereum and Bitcoin to improve efficiencies, and some new protocols seek to replace the original protocols altogether.

Today, blockchain is no longer the playground for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. It is a viable platform for consensus-driven transaction processing and can provide fractionalized ownership of Real World Assets such as Real Estate. There are Distributed Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) that are analogous to multi-national corporations governed by designated token holders, and there are stablecoins that are backed by liquid real assets and are pegged to the value of Fiat currency.

A token in the blockchain world is a digital representation of an asset. That asset can be currency or another good, physical or digital, that has value. Standards such as ERC-20 and ERC-721 allow businesses to create custom tokens that can represent anything from frequent buyer points to artwork to training certificates. There are also numerous public blockchain networks that can be leveraged to link custom tokens with fiat currency.

Many standard business processes have been modeled in smart contracts, and there are numerous open-source repositories containing code that can provide a head start.

For those processes that are unique to your business, TechCXO can provide both strategic leadership for your blockchain initiatives as well as the development services to help realize your vision.

Financial Services

Many financial institutions are leveraging blockchain to share transactions with trusted and untrusted entities on various networks. In a trusted environment, a multinational firm or group of firms can host several nodes that keep transactions synchronized. In untrusted environments, public blockchains can assist with the transfer of assets and currency exchange. Major international banks have adopted blockchain for rapid settlement across borders.

Healthcare

Blockchain can be used to identify healthcare entities, from providers to payers to patients, and help them interact on a distributed network. Patients can use their blockchain identity (or digital wallet) to allow their personal health data to be accessed by a new physician or payer, for example.

Logistics and Supply Chain

Moving goods across the world is an activity most of us take for granted and know little about how it works. When goods move from carrier to carrier, blockchain can be used to keep track of the movement of goods, who is currently in possession, and who is next in the chain.

Manufacturing, Retail, Transportation, and Government are continuing to see use cases for blockchain grow.