Which Industries Will Blockchain Technology Disrupt Next?

Even if digital currencies fade from widespread interest, become heavily regulated, or even are declared illegal, blockchain technology is likely here to stay. That’s because it has tremendous flexibility and the ability to disrupt almost every industry and sector of the market.

It has the potential to touch every company’s accounting, corporate governance, and human resource departments. But it may also profoundly impact sectors such as banking, cloud computing, healthcare, insurance, real estate, and many more.

Widespread Disruption Across Industries

There are some ways that blockchain technology can benefit all organizations, regardless of industry. Here are several:

• Accounting: Blockchain technology can benefit accountants by automating data collection and organization and many routine accounting functions, like payroll. If programmed and implemented correctly and honestly, it has the potential to eliminate instances of human error and fraud.
• Corporate Governance: Blockchain technology can increase the transparency of how an organization is governed through smart contracts—software that automatically executes blockchain actions based on predetermined conditions. It can also enable shareholder voting by proxy and collaboration on proposals.
• Human Resources: Human resource management can become more efficient by using blockchain technology. Smart contracts could perform functions like securing employee personal information, sourcing and managing talent pools, and paying employees across borders—which is very painful for HR departments with employees in many time zones and jurisdictions.
• Supply Chain: Blockchain can benefit supply chains across all industries. Airlines can track assets such as cargo, baggage, flight logs, and seating much more easily while securing maintenance histories and other critical aircraft information.

Retailers are now regularly using blockchain in their supply chains. For example, in 2022, Walmart Canada created an automated system using blockchain to reduce invoicing and payment errors for its 70 freight carriers.

Private-Sector Disruptions

Blockchain may have a specific and profound impact on some specific industries and market sectors. For example:

Cannabis

The legal cannabis industry is tightly regulated, which creates an opportunity for blockchain technology to make regulatory compliance for cannabis companies more efficient. Blockchain tech can increase the transparency of the cannabis supply chain, boosting the safety of the product and proving its legal status.

Cloud Computing

Blockchain technology may help to decentralize cloud computing, making cloud technology’s use of computing resources and data storage more efficient. Decentralizing data storage could also make cloud-based networks more secure.

Digital Advertising

Blockchain-based web browsers may change how online advertising works. Blockchain tech can enable companies to advertise directly to internet users, with consumers receiving fewer ads that are better targeted to their interests.

Fine Art

A blockchain-based distributed ledger can track the histories, provenances, and archival materials of collectibles. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which use blockchain technology, are being used to signify ownership of digital art.

Food and Beverage

Blockchain technology is well suited to making food and beverage supply chains safer and more efficient. Food supply chains on a blockchain are more transparent, which enables tracing contamination to its source to occur more quickly. Certifications like being organic could also be more easily verified, with blockchain technology providing more visibility into the supply chain.

Gaming

Blockchain tech can enable gamers to transport personas, skill sets, and digital assets across gaming platforms.

Healthcare

Hospital systems and other healthcare networks could use blockchain technology to share data, including patient records, more efficiently and securely. Private, permissioned blockchains may allow the healthcare industry to eliminate silos and reduce costs by enabling records to be efficiently shared without compromising privacy.

Insurance Industry

Blockchain technology could help establish consensus among the various parties involved with insurance claims, making processing claims more efficient. The technology could also facilitate cross-border insurance coverage and payments.

Internet Security

There are many ways that blockchain tech can potentially improve internet security. Blockchain technology could eliminate the need for human intermediaries, significantly reducing fraud, corruption, and human error. Blockchain tech can also make Internet of Things (IoT) networks more secure.

Online Gambling

Blockchain technology can bring much-needed transparency to online gambling, potentially disrupting the ability of digital casinos to tilt the odds in their favor. Players can also potentially maintain greater anonymity through blockchain-based betting platforms.

Pharmaceutical Drugs

Blockchain technology can potentially speed up the pharmaceutical industry’s drug discovery, which is notoriously slow, by enabling more and better collaboration among researchers. The drug development process can become safer with blockchain tech and increase its transparency.

Photography

Photographic licensing and copyright information can be managed and stored using blockchain tech. Photographers and creators can use the technology to connect directly with their supporters and control pricing and distribution.

Real Estate

Applying blockchain technology to real estate transactions could make transferring property more efficient. Blockchain tech can potentially record and track real estate transactions and ensure documentation accuracy.

Retail Industry

Blockchain platforms could significantly disrupt the retail industry, including brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce. Decentralized marketplaces can enable buyers and sellers to connect directly, which could lower prices by eliminating the markups charged by retailers. Sellers could avoid fees and restrictions traditionally imposed by retailers. Potentially, retailers can use blockchain technology to enhance gift card and loyalty programs.

Public-Sector Disruption

Blockchain technology is also increasingly being investigated for use by the public sector. Government agencies, more than private-sector enterprises, are plagued by bureaucracy and inefficiencies that blockchain technology can potentially remedy. Blockchain tech can also make governments more transparent and potentially less susceptible to corruption.

For example, ensuring that voting processes are fair and accountable is a major concern worldwide. Some have posited that blockchain could help to enhance this process and increase reliability and security. Using blockchain technology, voting processes could potentially improve everything from voter registration to vote counting. The blockchain’s distributed ledgers are publicly accessible and immutable, which would increase transparency in the process.

How Blockchain Tech Is Disrupting Finance

Blockchain technology, as the core component of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, is already disrupting the finance payments sector. But blockchain tech can potentially disrupt the payments sector even further, transforming several other subsectors within the finance industry.

Additionally, some companies have already used blockchain technology to develop global decentralized prediction markets. Here are the financial sectors likely to see major disruption in the years to come.

Banking

Companies have already demonstrated a significant interest in blockchain technology. With blockchain, users around the globe could gain access to banking opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have. Particularly, individuals in developing nations and without standard banks readily accessible can use blockchain to access these services.

When used with digital currencies, blockchain could allow for instant money transfers between countries without major fees and delay times. While some mainstream financial institutions in the United States were initially reluctant to delve into the cryptocurrency market, they were much less reticent about exploring the possibilities inherent in blockchain technology.

Fundraising

Crowdfunding has risen to prominence in the past several years to become one of the most popular ways for individuals to raise funds for all kinds of projects and goals. At the source of crowdfunding is a relationship of trust between those seeking to fund a project and others willing to contribute donations to support those goals.

Crowdfunding sites typically sustain themselves by charging fees for their services, acting as intermediaries between project developers and givers. Blockchain could help reduce the need for intermediaries, more efficiently connecting projects to those willing to give.

The Bottom Line

With the sheer number of industries and sectors that blockchain technology can potentially disrupt, it’s very likely that blockchain technology is here to stay, even if cryptocurrencies manage to. Blockchain tech’s impact on the world will continue to grow as more ways to use it are discovered.