Blockchain technology originated from Bitcoin. Its essence is to use computer algorithms and cryptography to create a decentralized digital currency system to achieve currency issuance and transaction functions. Let's take a look at which industries will be transformed by blockchain technology. The development of blockchain technology has made it possible for Bitcoin to become a decentralized digital currency. Blockchain technology is essentially a public currency system that can digitally, securely and automatically verify and record a large number of transactions. Entrepreneurs are beginning to believe that blockchain technology will disrupt the development rhythm of more industries. At present, many companies are using decentralized platforms to verify and organize transaction services. Although these platforms have no central supervision, there has been no fraud. Below are the industries where various companies are trying to apply blockchain technology. 1. Banking As a digital, tamper-proof account, blockchain fulfills the core function of the banking industry: a secure storage and transfer center for value. That said, a wave of blockchain-based companies may impact the banking industry in the next few years. Indeed, Swiss company UBS and British Baeclays are both trying to use blockchain technology to improve payment conditions. Some other companies in the banking industry even say that blockchain technology can save $20 billion in intermediary fees. It’s no surprise, then, that banks, as financial services giants, have become a growing force in investing in blockchain startups. Capital One invested in enterprise blockchain startup Chain (pictured above) 2. Payment and transfer Recently, the World Economic Forum wrote in Forbes magazine that decentralized payment technologies, such as Bitcoin, may change the "business structure" of the money transfer industry, which has remained unchanged for more than 100 years. Blockchain technology can bypass complicated systems and create a more direct payment process between payers and payees. Whether it is domestic or cross-border transfers, this method is low-cost and fast, and there is no need for intermediary fees. Abra (pictured above) is a startup that uses blockchain technology for global Bitcoin and blockchain-based transfers. 3. Cybersecurity Although the blockchain system is public, its verification, transmission and other data exchange processes use advanced encryption technology. This technology not only ensures the correct source of data, but also ensures that the data is not intercepted in the middle. If blockchain technology is more widely used, the probability of being attacked by hackers may also decrease, so people believe that the blockchain system is more secure than the traditional system. One of the reasons why the blockchain system can reduce the security risks of traditional networks is that it eliminates the need for middlemen. “Cutting out the middleman not only reduces the potential security risk of hacker attacks, but also reduces the possibility of corruption,” Goldman Sachs wrote. Guardtime (pictured above) is an Estonian startup that focuses on industrial-grade cybersecurity solutions based on blockchain technology. 4. Academic Record and Academia The Holbertson School, a California software skills program, announced that it will use blockchain technology to authenticate academic certificates. This move will ensure the authenticity of Holbertson School students in course certification. If more schools adopt this transparent academic certificates, transcripts and diplomas, then academic corruption will be greatly reduced, not to mention the time saved for manual verification and the cost of paper documents. 5. Elections At West Virginia University, the student government is considering using a blockchain-based voting platform for school elections. If such a platform is used, students will be able to vote using their mobile devices, and because the results will be counted in a public system, the votes will be completely secure. A student who supports this approach explained that everyone's votes "can never be modified or deleted by us - programmers, school administrators or students." Agora Voting, a Spanish software project that uses cryptography to improve the security of online voting, has also been experimenting with several of its systems in Spain. Recently, the project’s leaders proposed several ideas for turning bitcoin and blockchain technology into voting applications, though none of them are close to being experimental. 6. Car rental and sales Late last year, Visa and DocuSign announced a partnership to use blockchain technology to create a specific solution for car rentals. In the future, car rentals can be completed in just three steps: "click, sign, and drive." The specific operation is: the customer chooses the car he wants to rent, and then the transaction will be uploaded to the public account of the blockchain; then, the customer signs a rental agreement and insurance agreement from the driver's seat, and the blockchain will upload the information in real time. It is not difficult to imagine that this rental model may also be applied to the fields of car sales and car registration. 7. Network communications and the Internet of Things IBM and Samsung are working together to realize a concept called ADEPT. ADEPT uses blockchain technology to build the backbone of the decentralized Internet of Things. CoinDesk said that with ADEPT, which stands for decentralized p2p automatic telemetry system, blockchain can become a public system for many devices, and there is no need for a central hub to mediate the communication between each device. After removing the central control system to identify each other, devices can automatically communicate with each other to manage software updates, bugs, or energy consumption. Other companies are also working to integrate blockchain technology into IoT platforms. For example, Filament, which uses blockchain technology to build a decentralized network for sensors to communicate with each other, announced that they have received $5 million in Series A funding, with participation from Verizon Ventures and Samsung Ventures. 8. Smart Contracts Smart contracts are essentially computer programs that perform functions on the actions of another object. Like regular computer programs, smart contracts are an "if-then" function, but blockchain technology enables the automatic filling of these "contracts" without human intervention. Such contracts could eventually replace the core business of the legal industry, which is the business of drafting and managing contracts in both the commercial and civil fields. For example, mortgage loans can be completed through blockchain technology and automatically executed every year according to the terms of the contract. Ethereum, a crowdfunding platform built using blockchain technology, not only provides decentralized applications, but also smart contracts. Some users have used their smart contracts to get married. Another company, Hedgy, received a $1.2 million seed round investment from Tim Draper, Marc Benioff, Boost.vc and Sand Hill Angels earlier this year. The company uses smart contracts to build a platform that supports users to negotiate the value of Bitcoin. 9. Prediction Blockchain technology is set to shake up the entire research, analysis, consulting and forecasting industry. Online crowdfunding platform Augur hopes to make money on a decentralized prediction platform. The company says it will offer a service that looks like a betting swap. The entire process will be decentralized, and the Augur platform will not only provide users with sports and stock betting services, but also elections and natural disasters. The idea is actually to go beyond sports betting and create a "prediction market." 10. Online Music Many musicians are choosing blockchain technology to improve the fairness of online music sharing. Billboard reported that two companies are currently working to automatically solve licensing issues by paying artists directly and using smart contracts. PeerTracks, which is still in its development stage, wants to create a new music streaming platform where users can pay artists directly without the intervention of middlemen. PeerTracks also hopes to create more direct interactions between artists and users. Ujo Music, led by entrepreneur Phil Barry, claims that they are rebuilding the music industry on the blockchain. Ujo also hopes to solve the problems of streaming music and artist payment. In addition to streaming music, some people also envision that by using smart contracts as the autonomous brain of the song list, Ujo can better classify the artists and creators behind the songs. 11. Itinerary Sharing
Travel apps like Uber seem to be the antithesis of decentralization, with the company acting like a dispatching center, using its algorithms to control its drivers and the fees they charge. According to Bloomberg, Israeli startup La'Zooz wants to "go the other way around Uber." The company has invented its own patented digital currency, which, like Bitcoin, can be digitally recorded using blockchain technology. Unlike using a centralized network to call a taxi, users can look for people with similar itineraries on La'Zooz and then pay for the taxi with La'zooz's currency. These coins can be used to call a taxi later, and users can get La'Zooz's digital currency by allowing the app to track their location. 12. Stock Trading For years, companies have been looking for ways to simplify the process of buying, selling, and trading stocks, and emerging blockchain technology startups think they can go beyond the past and automate the entire process to improve security and efficiency. Overstock's subsidiary TØ.com wants to use blockchain technology to enable online stock trading. Wired reported that Overstock is already using blockchain technology to issue public stocks. Meanwhile, blockchain technology startup Chain (mentioned above) is working with Nasdaq to enable private company stock trading through blockchain technology. | 
