The blockchain technology has been around for a while now and the success of the popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin really put this technology on the map. However, digital currencies are not the only area in which blockchain is being used and as time goes by more and more companies and governments around the world are adopting the technology in various capacities.
Most people don’t yet understand this technology quite well enough, which is why blockchain is usually simply associated with Bitcoin. The actual benefits of blockchain are far reaching and can be adopted in a great number of different industries, both in the private and public sector.
While mere mortals may not understand the blockchain technology fully just yet, the people listed here are true experts on the subject and they have all the tips you could need in this regard. However, for those who do know what blockchain is, here are a few great examples of how both corporations and entire countries have adopted blockchain in their different areas of operation.
China Launching a Digital Currency
The idea of digital currencies as a major way of paying for things really kicked off when Bitcoin first experienced major growth. Ever since, the debate on cryptocurrencies has been alive and while some countries such as the USA have been against such ideas for the most part, China seems to be adopting crypto as the next big thing.
Digital payments have of course been very present in China for many years, with apps such as WeChat and AliPay often used to pay for things in shops around China instead of cash or credit cards. However, these payments are still made in Yuan and aren’t digital payments in the real sense of the word.
Unlike Bitcoin and many other digital currency, China’s proposed digital Yuan would be a real currency, with value backed by the state. However, this currency would never exist in the real world and no bank notes would ever be printed. The digital Yuan is currently being tested in four different cities across China, with the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing set as the time for a real mass scale test of the new digital currency.
European Union to Join the Bandwagon?
Back in 2019, Mark Zuckerberg and his Facebook company proposed a launch of a new digital coin dubbed Libra. The idea of Facebook making a serious step into the financial world certainly didn’t resonate too well with many in the public sector and great scrutiny was brought over the whole idea, which still exists in principal.
However, to respond to this idea, European politicians have been heavily discussing using the blockchain technology to launch a unique European cryptocurrency which would be centralized and controlled by the EU. Of course, this idea is slightly in contrast with the whole blockchain idea in which decentralization plays a major part, but the currency would use this technology as its basis nevertheless.
USPS to Use Blockchain for Mail-in Voting?
Mail-in voting has been a controversial topic in many countries, but none as much as the USA, where President Donald Trump heavily criticized mail-in voting as insecure and easy to tamper with. The U.S. Postal Office (USPS) responded to this by launching a brand-new patent called “Secure Voting System”, which is a blockchain based voting system that would allow voters to vote safely and anonymously with no chance for the data to be tampered with.
One of the greatest advantages of blockchain is in fact the data security. Once uploaded, the data can virtually not be tampered with, which is a great advantage in terms of mail-in voting. The way the system would work is that each vote would be uploaded to the shared blockchain almost immediately upon being cast, making it almost impossible for the numbers to be changed or tampered with, as they could be accessed by literally anyone in real time. Each voter would receive a secure and unique code which only they could use, making it one vote per person and 100% secure.
This new technology is the attempt of USPS to respond to recent accusations that mail-in voting can be easily compromised and is one step towards a safer and more transparent voting process in general. If effective, it is likely that the system would soon be used more widely in terms of US elections and potentially elections worldwide in the years to come.