If you have been on the Bitcoin bandwagon for years, you are probably very happy with your decision. When this virtual currency first hit the market, its value was expressed in mere pennies. Less than a decade later, the price of a single Bitcoin was nearing $20,000.
Even though the price of Bitcoin has settled down from those stratospheric highs, there is still a great deal of optimism in the cryptocurrency community. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and the like still have their fans, and they point to the enormous returns these virtual currencies have produced over the years.
But there is more to the cryptocurrency revolution that just wild price swings and investment returns. Below the surface lies the real power of cryptocurrency - the blockchain.
The blockchain is a kind of ledger, one that is written and rewritten every time a transaction takes place. This ledger is decentralized, with thousands of individual nodes recording transactions and saving them for all time.
The permanent nature of the blockchain ledger, coupled with its decentralized structure, is what makes this technology so powerful. Even if Bitcoin, Ethereum and other virtual currencies eventually go to zero, the underlying blockchain technology is not going away. In fact, it is making advances every day. Here are some of the ways blockchain technology is already changing the world and transforming lives.
Verifiable Proof of Ownership
Proving ownership is not always easy. Receipts get lost, bank records get deleted and memories fade. When ownership is challenged for a big ticket item, the results can get quite messy.
Blockchain has the power to change all that. Since every purchase, no matter what its side, is permanently stored on the blockchain, ownership can be tracked no matter when the item was bought. That has the power to transform ownership tracking, providing buyers with an added layer of protection and making theft efforts far more difficult.
Faster Stock Settlement
In the current environment, it can take up to three days for a stock purchase to clear, resulting in costly delays and higher commissions for customers. In the future, the blockchain could reduce that settlement period essentially to zero, making purchases easier and driving down cost for the entire industry..
The decentralized nature of tokenized equity should also mean greater safety and transparency for investors. This is a separate advantage over and above the cost savings those stock market investors should be able to achieve.
Safer Elections
The tumultuous 2016 presidential election uncovered deficiencies that had flown under the radar for decades. From charges of fake news and voter intimidation to structural issues with the voter rolls, these deficiencies were laid bare.
That is one reason many state, local and federal authorities are exploring ways to incorporate blockchain technology into future elections. Since every transaction is recorded indelibly on the blockchain, auditing future vote counts will be much simpler, and attempts at voter fraud far less successful.
More Secure Real Estate Transactions
Buying a piece of property is always fraught with peril, from the danger of overpaying to worries that a last minute problem with the title will scuttle the deal. Keeping track of real estate titles and related documents has always been a challenge, but the blockchain could make the process far easier and more secure.
The same decentralized ledger that makes cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin possible can also produce a permanent record of all real estate purchases, verifying ownership and making transfers easier and less expensive. Real estate companies and local governments are already experimenting with these blockchain-enabled transfers, and buyers should expect to see more of them in the future.
No matter what happens to Bitcoin and its fellow cryptocurrencies, the blockchain is here to stay. Blockchain technology may be less glamorous than the daily price swings of the cryptocurrency market, but in the end, it could prove far more important. Blockchain technology is already changing the world, and those transformations will only accelerate as we move through the 21st century.