“Blockchain is raw but full of potential”

This one liner is a decent summary of Blockchain in 2017.

Now think of a world where no one can change the actual creator of an art! No one can copy a music track! No one can possess money from an invalid source!  A billion dollar property can be sold or, bought in minutes with full transparency and credibility! No vendor can delay the delivery of a product, or no client can change requirements in the middle of a contract!  -These are just few examples of what Blockchain is capable of doing!.

Blockchain in simple words:

Blockchain facilitates secured online asset transaction,any object that has a value. It makes asset transfer as easy as how one sends a document through the internet! The whole process is fully transparent and irreversible that makes each transaction 100% credible.

Blockchain is fast and secured:

In a blockchain environment, any kind of asset can be transferred from anywhere at any time with least costing so that a product or asset (such as- a bitcoin, a diamond or something as simple as a pen) can be monitored from origin to the latest owner and owners in the middle as well. Therefore, none can deny a transaction that s/he has made and adding to that, cannot do an illegal transaction, which s/he does not own. For instance, if one has 10 coins, s/he can send at best 10 coins to someone, not more than that. If s/he sends 5 coins in the first transaction, he can’t send more than 5 coins in the second transaction. To send money first one has to get the money. So there is no scope for illegal money.

Blockchain facilitates Smart Contracts:

Another important and interesting characteristic of blockchain is, here two transactions can take place at a time. There is nothing like- if I get the product, I will pay; or if I get the money, I will send the product. Here money and product transaction take place simultaneously. Once requirements/deliverables have been set, it cannot be changed.

For example, Organization A and studio X has agreed on a contract like this:

“Studio X was hired by “A” BDT for making a video with subtitle and 50 photographs which has to be delivered by 5pm on 1st May. The payment will 300,000 BDT and if delayed, 5% of the payment will be deducted for every 24 hours.”

If any of the above conditions weren’t fulfilled, there will be unavoidable consequences. If the Studio X delivers the deliverables on 2nd May, 285,000 BDT will be transferred to their account from A’s account. So, the contracts are unbreakable and totally automated.

Who are using it?

Fintech companies around the world have taken blockchain very seriously. A good number of Silicon Valley start-ups are getting funded in millions to work on blockchain. Even world’s biggest crowd-funding project, named DAO, is a blockchain project.

Again, organizations are also using blockchain for non-financial innovations as well. From retail companies to large scale IOTs are already on it. A huge potential market is yet to be explored and here is a good read on where blockchain can revolutionize the world. Here is another article on non-financial innovations with blockchain.

Why should you be interested?

Blockchain has the potential to solve majority of the problems related to asset transactions. It has made  transactions easy and flexible, privacy is well maintained and everyone is accountable for the transactions made.

Blockchain facilitates asset transactions in an easy and flexible manner so that one can make such transactions from his mobile phone or computer sitting at home. One doesn’t need to go through paperwork and associated complications.

Adding to that, sender and receiver’s identities are all hidden so that they have full privacy. On the other hand, sender can’t execute an illegal transaction and receiver can’t deny a transaction being taken place. Moreover, a contract once made can never be broken. So, the chances of fraud and cheat become lower than ever.

All these exciting features make blockchain the next big thing the world is going to embrace. Billions of dollars are getting invested, the largest and most credible organizations are adapting the technology in their operation; global specialists and idols talking about the future of blockchain, and all these pose the most important question- “Do you need more reasons to get started?”

Zaki Anan

Zaki is a football freak and technology enthusiast. He currently works at BRAC Social Innovation Lab. He loves to play with numbers and design digital solutions for manual systems. He is that "lazy" person who will find the easiest solution for your most complicated task!