Blog 1.6— How Blockchain Technology Will Change the World

At Alkimi we’re using blockchain technology to disrupt and improve the inefficient ad exchange model. But that is just one of the countless applications of blockchain technology.

90% of all digital adverts are traded through a digital ad exchange and it is now a multi-billion dollar industry. The problem is, the ad exchange model is deeply flawed.

It is estimated that $0.49 of every advertiser’s dollar is spent before it reaches a publisher and one-third of those supply-chain costs are completely untraceable!

To us Alkimists, that is unacceptable. We believe that blockchain technology will provide the upgrade that our industry so desperately needs.

The potential of blockchain reaches far beyond the digital ad exchange that we are building at Alkimi. Let’s discover some of the ways that blockchain technology will change the world.

Let’s get to it!

Expect to learn:

• How blockchain technology could benefit the healthcare industry
• What a blockchain-powered cashless society looks like
• How blockchain technology has created digital scarcity

Better Security for Data and Products

One of the most promising applications of blockchain technology is data security. Blockchains can offer higher levels of security for sensitive information like medical records, financial transactions, and login credentials.

Blockchain is decentralised and does not suffer from a single point of failure, they are extremely resistant to data breaches and you can have greater control over what data you want to share with others, whether that be a medical professional or social media platform.

Blockchain technology and medical records are a great match. Example: A patient has a doctor’s appointment for some foot pain, this patient can choose to share the relevant parts of his medical record because he has control over his medical record data.

The doctor doesn’t need to know every last medical detail about the patient, and the patient doesn’t want to share all their medical data because it exposes them to data hacks on medical database systems. The patient shares the medical data that the doctor requests answers all relevant questions about their foot pain and walks out of there knowing that if a hacker gets into their systems they won’t know everything about them.

Enhanced security, enhanced privacy, enhanced experience.

A Cashless Society

The idea of a cashless society makes a lot of people nervous. But, thanks to blockchain technology, it might not be as far-fetched or Orwellian as it sounds.

At Alkimi, we are in favour of decentralisation. We do not want to live in a dystopian society where we own nothing and control even less. Digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum use blockchain technology to ensure that they are secure, transparent and censorship-resistant.

If we lived in a cashless society it would be extremely important to have control over our assets. If a financial institution or governmental organisation had the power to freeze your account containing all your assets you would quickly become powerless and at their mercy.

With blockchain technology, you have total control over your digital assets. A blockchain is completely neutral, it cannot seize control of your digital assets.

This might sound like a criminal paradise, but it’s not.

Why not?

A hacker that steals other people’s digital assets needs to send them to a digital wallet. The digital wallet that the hacker sends the stolen digital assets to is easily identifiable by its public address.

The identity of the hacker is concealed by the cryptographic encryption, but the location of the stolen assets is traceable. Blockchain analytics firms that specialise in locating stolen digital assets can then blacklist the public address of the hacker.

Once merchants have been notified of a blacklisted address, it makes it very hard for the hacker to have their stolen bounty accepted as a legitimate currency. It’s like trying to pay with bank notes that are covered in ink. Who would want to accept it?

A more open and fair financial system that deters criminal actions is the ultimate goal of a cashless society. It is possible with blockchain technology.

Virtual Assets

As society continues on its trajectory towards digitisation it is now becoming increasingly important to be able to prove ownership of virtual assets. Digital scarcity was a novel concept 10 years ago but the meteoric rise of NFTs has proven that there is demand for virtual goods.

As a result, virtual assets are now being taken seriously and many are commanding a price tag. The rise in demand for digital art and online gaming items had led to the acceleration of this cultural shift.

In the past, people have had a hard time proving ownership of virtual goods or creating digital scarcity in an open-source environment where you can easily make copies.

With the use of NFTs, we are able to easily verify and track an item’s origins back to its source. This allows us to check whether a virtual item is original or counterfeit.

Digital scarcity is possible through the use of blockchain technology.

Make sure you remember these!

Key takeaways:

• A blockchain is a trusted source of information
• Blockchain technology gives you more control over your assets
• You can create digital scarcity with blockchain technology

Well done!!

You’ve finished the Alkimi Academy Blockchain Basics series.

Series 2 coming out soon!