Blockchain technology is widely known because of the digital assets. But there are way more interesting decentralized appliances in different spheres. Some of the blockchain solutions go far beyond crypto and will simply blow your mind.
The blockchain idea appeared back in the 1980s. But the whole distributed ledger concept the idea became widely known in 2008 due to Bitcoin white paper by mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto.
The hysteria that followed made the blockchain famous. And not only in crypto world.
Blockchain is one of the cornerstone digital technologies of our time, playing significant role in different spheres like finance, entertainment, governance, security, etc. It’s already helping businesses and nonprofit organizations to simplify management of difficult processes. And of course many security experts praise it as the most effective technology for enforcing your privacy.
Some of them even claim blockchain might never die after all. And chances for that increase if you consider the applications of blockchain beyond crypto market.
Here are some of the most interesting non-cryptocurrency blockchain implications to date.
Securing health data with blockchain far beyond crypto
It seems that blockchain is able to solve one of the main problems of digital health data storage. Which is the cybersecurity of sensitive personal information.
Scientists at the University of British Columbia’s school of information are currently working on the project called ‘personal health wallet’.
It would work just like a crypto wallet but with your health information rather than tokens.
The developers claim this way of storing sensitive private data is more secure than current information systems. Basically because because the blockchain health wallet does not rely on traditional security measures like passwords or login details.
Moreover, the decentralized system is not using any shared third-party services, making the personal data more resistant to hacks or security breaches. A great implementation of blockchain beyond crypto.
Such a wallet based on decentralized data would allow people to share their health information with doctors securely and efficiently. And also would keep this data from being used for research purposes by third parties.
Legal cannabis supply
Being legalized in different parts of the world, cannabis supply is still a sensitive industry that needs a high level of transparency.
Besides some ‘marijuana-tokens’ like PotCoin, DopeCoin or ParagonCoin there are some other projects that integrate blockchain into supply chain management. Mostly in California, obviously.
The California state treasurer John Chiang even proposes to open a public bank dedicated to the cannabis industry.
Such a bank could be based on blockchain technologies and cashless secure solutions helping suppliers to get rid of high taxation and making their business more transparent for the government.
Blockchain technology which is beyond crypto could even give the cannabis industry an ability to trace the history of each product. Consumers would be able to see the whole journey of their product from seed to sale, its quality, safety, and consistency.
Considering that cannabis is a cash-only business in the U.S., blockchain is definitely on its way to joining the industry.
Diamonds’ authenticity
Curiously enough, but diamonds industry has the same issues as the cannabis’ one. Especially when the world-biggest Russian-based diamonds miner got under sanctions.
Online jewelry retailer Brilliant Earth decided to use blockchain to solve this. Now the company is tracking down diamonds’ originals, including their cut, color, clarity, carat, and the assurance of genuine sourced diamond.
Decentralized databases help consumers see information about each diamond source, manufacturing, its original lot number, etc.
Simply put, now you can ask your seller where does the diamond you want to buy for your wedding comes from. You will get a definitive answer thanks to blockchain technology stretching far beyond crypto and money.
The blockchain system was launched a few years ago due to the blockchain-based digital ledger platform Everledger partnership. Now Brilliant Earth has up to 10% of its diamond inventory on the blockchain.
Gender issues and same-sex marriage
Swedish sportswear brand Björn Borg launched the blockchain platform Marriage Unblocked where users can propose, marry, and exchange vows despite their sexual orientation, beliefs, or the living country.
All the records about it are kept anonymous, as same-sex marriage can be dangerous for people in most the world countries.
The David Mondrus and Joyce Bayo couple were the first to engage such kind of marriage in 2014 due to the Bitcoin blockchain. And last year billionaire Brock Pierce married his wife with a blockchain contract that could be ‘renewed, changed and dissolved annually’.
No state or religion should control love, says Marriage Unblocked motto.
Blockchain beyond crypto – political elections
Did you know that Sierra Leone became the first country to run a blockchain-based election last year? 70% of the voters used the new digital technology for giving their political preferences.
The country’s government used the technology to anonymously store votes in an immutable distributed ledger. This is a very good example of blockchain usage beyond crypto.
The elections results were published on Agora’s blockchain. And every citizen had the possibility to view and check it for free. The government wanted to be as transparent as possible because of the corruption claims in the past.
And the blockchain proved its ability in making the transparent voting process from scratch. Including ballot fraud prevention which is common in traditional paper voting.
Blockchain technology for media rights
Blockchain is able to provide intellectual property rights. Besides the non-fungible tokens’ technology, entertainment entrepreneurs are using blockchain to make content sharing fairer for creators.
For instance, a blockchain-based music streaming platform Muzika partnered with Binance to help independent artists make up to 90% of the revenue from their listeners.
Almost 5 years ago Spotify also acquired blockchain startup Mediachain, which had been developing a “decentralized media library”. It can help clearly identify the copyright holder of any song on Spotify’s platform for royalties payments.
And there are hundreds of similar blockchain startups beyond crypto that help creators to monetize their content.
Salmon traceability on blockchain is way beyond crypto
One more blockchain beyond crypto solution that is related to the products supply chain. In this case, to the salmon supplying.
According to Ledger Insights, a Norwegian company acquired by U.K.-based Ernst & Young has developed a salmon tracing blockchain platform.
The project called EY Skye allows tracking each fish as it goes through the supply chain. Consumers can see where their fish has come from through the app.
It is important to distributors, restaurants, markets, and, of course, customers to be able to trace each fish through a value chain, the developers say.
Verifying sexual consent
Yes, even the #MeToo movement inspired some activists to use blockchain beyond crypto.
A few years ago Amsterdam-based startup LegalThings launched a beta version of the LegalFling app. Based on blockchain, the app allowed users to record whether they had consented to have sex.
In the app, users could specify some special requirements for their sexual partners by sharing photos and videos. Like using condoms or different sex practices.
After accepting or declining the specific terms of sexual interaction partners record their consent on the blockchain. So neither party can blame the other for not having consent to any sex practices they discussed.
The platform’s creators want their app to be essential in sex-related court proceedings. That’s how blockchain has just received one more application beyond crypto.
Sources: CBC, Erlang Solutions, CBInsights, Entrepreneur
