8 Benefits of Blockchain to Industries Beyond Cryptocurrency

Heard about Bitcoins and cryptocurrency lately? You probably have, thanks to all the buzz surrounding Bitcoin’s record-breaking exploits.

It’s almost surreal to think that, back in 2011, Bitcoins traded for $1 each. Recently one Bitcoin was worth a whopping $16,000. As an entrepreneur, you may not be interested in purchasing Bitcoins or any other cryptocurrency as a form of investment. But you have to appreciate the underlying technology that makes Bitcoin possible — the blockchain.

In layman’s terms, the blockchain is a virtual, public ledger that records everything in a secure and transparent manner. Unlike banks that facilitate transactions with traditional currencies, the blockchain allows the free transfer of cryptocurreny through a decentralized environment. All the data is then held in an interlinked network of computers, owned and run by none other than the users themselves.

To some people, the blockchain technology is a lot more promising than the cryptocurrency it was designed to support. Sure, the demand for Bitcoin is colossal at this point in time. But since it’s basically backed by nothing but sentiment, it’s reasonable to believe that the Bitcoin bubble may eventually pop– however unlikely that may be. The benefits of blockchain, however, are more than big enough to sustain its relevance for generations to come. Without further ado, here are the most important benefits of blockchain that may prove to be useful to businesses in different industries:

For supply chain management, the blockchain technology offers the benefits of traceability and cost-effectiveness. Put simply, a blockchain can be used to track the movement of goods, their origin, quantity and so forth. This brings about a new level of transparency to B2B ecosystems — simplifying processes such as ownership transfer, production process assurance and payments.

If an irregularity is detected somewhere along the supply chain, a blockchain system can lead you all the way to its point of origin. This makes it easier for businesses to carry out investigations and execute the necessary actions.  

A use-case for this is in the food sector, where tracking the origination, batch information and other important details is crucial for quality assurance and safety.

Recording transactions through blockchain virtually eliminates human error and protects the data from possible tampering. Keep in mind that records are verified every single time they are passed on from one blockchain node to the next. In addition to the guaranteed accuracy of your records, such a process will also leave a highly traceable audit trail.

Of course, the entire accounting process also becomes more efficient on a foundational level. Rather than maintaining separate records, businesses can only keep a single, joint register. The integrity of a company’s financial information is also guaranteed.

Time-consuming contractual transactions can bottleneck the growth of a business, especially for enterprises that process a torrent of communications on a consistent basis.