The wheel was a remarkable
invention that benefited Mankind to a great deal with its application
impacting many disciplines of Science and Engineering. One would be surprised
to know that first known wheel (in Mesopotamia around 3500 BC) was actually
used as a tool for Pottery and not for transportation. According to recorded
history, it took another 300 years to realize the actual value of the Wheel.
The analogy is very relevant to what we see with the frenzy about Bitcoins rather than the underlying BlockChain. To put in a nut shell, to the technology world BlockChain is capable of being what Wheel was to Engineering. The problem is the buzz on Crypto-currencies is causing undue diversion of attention from what a gem that BlockChain is. Now comes the important question?
The analogy is very relevant to what we see with the frenzy about Bitcoins rather than the underlying BlockChain. To put in a nut shell, to the technology world BlockChain is capable of being what Wheel was to Engineering. The problem is the buzz on Crypto-currencies is causing undue diversion of attention from what a gem that BlockChain is. Now comes the important question?
"Are we placing too much emphasis on 'Bitcoin & related
crypto-currencies' which is just one application of BlockChain?"
Before
we answer that, we should also understand that Bitcoin differs from core
BlockChain technology. For starters, Bitcoin is unregulated, entirely anonymous
and as a reason it is resource intensive making it unsuitable for most modern
applications. On the other hand, BlockChain application is to be regulated with
identity of stakeholders known when a transfer of asset takes place between
them. The above premise is not to
undermine the effect of Bitcoin. In fact, Bitcoin is the reason for generating
the interest around BlockChain technology. An idea conceived in the 1990's was
brought to light first through Bitcoin. Having said that, Bitcoin is BlockChain
but BlockChain is not restricted to Bitcoins but a lot more than that.
The applications can stretch to multiple industries starting with ones dealing sensitive data like Finance and Healthcare. There is a need for establishing standards for the emerging technology post which things will start to fall in place. The need for BlockChain based solutions is more than ever. Some sections also point out that the recent PNB Fraud scam could have been averted by the use of BlockChain technology. Although this contention is up for a debate, people have started realizing the value of BlockChain and looking at it as an alternative. World Economic Forum predicts that by 2027, 10% of Global GDP will be stored on Block Chain technology.
The Logistics, Travel & Retail industry also have numerous applications of BlockChain which I believe will the focus area of IT spend in these industries in the next decade starting 2020. To be true, the smart contracts application of Block Chain is relevant to any industry involving multiple stakeholders. Many more applications of Block Chain are yet to be conceptualized.
"Given that we are beginning to come out of the Horse's blinder in case of
Block Chain Technology, it will be a moment of awakening the sleeping
giant"
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article in the comments section...
Shakeel Hanif
TECHOSlovia