While it is true that most people associate block chains with crypto currencies, its potential real life applications are many. What its being used for and how it is changing the way we do things is what really makes it revolutionary. So let us begin by looking at some of these examples.
First let's define what a block chain actually is without getting too technical. A block chain at its core is really just a ledger or a journal where all transactions are kept and updated, but not only just transaction since it can also keep records of ownership and many other different types of information. The fact that every single person has access to that ledger is what makes it unique. It removes the need for a middle man, because there is no need for anyone to trust anyone else since it is impossible to update the ledger without everyone's approval.
The Block chain and the health Industry
With all our information vulnerable to theft or at the very least to annoying spammers, implementing this idea to the health Industry would in fact be revolutionary since you alone would decide on who and when your medical information could be accessed. The idea is simple, by keeping all medical and in general personal information encoded within the block chain and giving you the private key, you then would have the power to decide who has access to it, making it impossible for any third party to sell your personal information.
Block chain and smart contracts
Normally if you need to create a contract, independently of what type of contract it is, you will have to involve a third party that will make sure that both parties agree to the contract, and that when either party fails to meet certain conditions, some sort of monetary punishment will be applied.
The block chain, however eliminates the need for a third party because like it was mentioned earlier, both parties would have a copy of that contract and since the contract would be created using a series of computer code called
if-then-that-this statements, it would execute itself when certain conditions were met and it would be impossible to try to modify it without both parties agreeing to these changes.
What all this means in real life scenarios
These are only two examples of its possible usage, but even in these few examples it is already clear how this has the potential to change everything. It is not prudent nor wise to go around trusting any person you come in contact with, especially if there is money or any type of trade-off involved but if we cannot trust each other, how are we supposed to conduct any type of business.
That is where Block chain comes into play, since it was designed to exactly do that, doing business without the need for any of the parties having to trust each other, only the mechanism they are using to conduct business. The tools are already here and they are being implemented in various different fields and scenarios. But the most important part of this is us. We need to be more proactive and take part in this movement because the concept of Block chain revolves around the idea of decentralizing the information and empowering ourselves to take ownership of our own lives.