Blockchain: 5 potential uses that you probably didn’t know about
Most people who have heard the term think that the Blockchain is only something to do with cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, litecoin and others.
Now that this technology is gaining more and more momentum and interest from VCs, financial experts and traders. But while this tech has come a long way in such a short time, some of its proposed potential applications are pretty unconventional.
Currency aside, listed below are five of some of the most interesting and perhaps revolutionary use-cases for this revolutionary technology .
MUSIC
Within the music industry, blockchain is being touted as a way to level the playing field for artists by allowing them to sell direct to fans and to solve licensing issues.
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Imogen Heap released her song Tiny Human using a blockchain platform. Users paid for licences to download, stream and remix the song and each payment was automatically split between all the people involved. Heap has now launched her own blockchain project, Mycelia.
CLOUD STORAGE
Projects like Storj intend to use blockchain technology to share files in a decentralized network. Users with extra disk space will automatically be able to rent out unused storage space. Users in need of cloud storage space can pay to store files on computers across the network. Storj estimates that this system will cut costs of data storage by about 80%.
ONLINE VOTING
Online voting adoption has yet to take off, mainly due to fears that it is insufficiently secure. Some argue the blockchain could change that thanks to immutable, transparent nature. In spring 2014 Danish political party the Liberal Alliance became the first major political party to vote using blockchain technology, for an internal election. Organisations have expressed an interest in Norway, the US and Spain.
GETTING MARRIED
Yes, you read right, you can now get married by blockchain and that’s exactly what David Mondrus and Joyce Bayo did in 2014.At a ceremony, which took place during a bitcoin conference at Disney World, Florida, the couple became the first to take part in a ‘blockchain wedding’.
It can be used to store documents and contracts, as well as currency data. The couple’s marriage certificate was submitted to the blockchain, permanently submitting their vows to the open database, which will now be displayed as long as the Internet is accessible.
LAND REGISTRIES
In May 2015 Honduras announced plans to set up a permanent and secure land title record system using the blockchain, developed by US company Factom. This would help to tackle the issue of corrupt officials altering the list of land titles, according to Factom’s president Peter Kirby. Northern Ghana and the Isle of Man are also experimenting with using blockchain for land or company registrations.
