18 Ways Blockchain Could Soon Disrupt Multiple Functions and Industries

Many may see blockchain technology as solely a function of the crypto industry, but its future may extend far beyond the exchange of cryptocurrencies. A blockchain’s unique properties, which include individually encrypted, unalterable transactions, or “blocks,” make it ideal for a range of uses across industries.

From streamlining supply chain management to improving the patient experience in a variety of healthcare applications, blockchain is (or soon may be) playing a pivotal role in the storage and exchange of data and the ways companies and consumers transact business. Here, 18 members of Forbes Technology Council share some truly innovative ways blockchain technology is being or could be used.

1. Managing Global Supply Chain Networks

Blockchain has started to address some key challenges in the U.S. Department of Defense’s complex global supply chain network. By providing a single source of truth, it can reduce data fragmentation and errors and improve end-to-end tracking. Increased transparency fosters trust among partners, optimizing processes, reducing costs and enhancing government readiness. More can and should be done. - Justin Fulcher, RingMD

2. Enabling Digital Goods Portability

I’m excited about the applicability of blockchain to enable the portability of digital goods (such as clothing) across immersive worlds. Today, there are approximately 400 million monthly active users of virtual worlds, with many younger users spending real money on digital products. This will be a key element of the next iteration of the internet that will require interoperability across platforms. - Kevan Yalowitz, Accenture

3. Tracking Vehicle Ownership Records

A blockchain that creates an immutable record has many values beyond crypto. One option for its use is proving ownership of our vehicles. Most owners have a physical title paper, yet this is not ideal, as it can be lost or destroyed. Replace this with a blockchain that describes the vehicle, VIN and service records, and the process of buying or selling a car becomes much easier and entails less risk. - Grayson Milbourne, OpenText

4. Maintaining SBOMs

Having auditable, immutable proof of your software bill of materials would be a big step forward in addressing software supply chain security issues. Many organizations struggle to understand what components contribute to their products. By providing an SBOM and clear sight into any resulting risks, blockchain solutions could restore the confidence in vendors that was damaged by the Solar Winds and Log4j problems. - Thomas Kranz, RDX Works

5. Tracking Production And Consumption Of SAF

Tracking the production and consumption of sustainable aviation fuel is an excellent use case for blockchain technology. A “batch” of SAF, with its unique attributes, needs to be tracked from the refinery to the wing of the aircraft it will fly in. This is especially true for business aviation use cases, where companies want to prove that they use bonafide sustainable aviation fuel. - Greg Johnson, Tuvoli LLC

6. ‘Owning’ One’s Own Personal Identification

Identity is foundational to freedom. Anyone without a birth certificate, passport or driver’s license is just not able to participate freely in many activities. Unfortunately, when centralized authorities have too much control over identity, personal freedom is at risk. Decentralized, public blockchains are ideal platforms for everyone to “own their own ID.” - John Ottman, Solix Technologies, Inc.

7. Enhancing Customer Loyalty Programs

Blockchain could allow users to better leverage their customer identities to benefit from loyalty programs. It enables the creation of a secure and transparent system that can be shared among multiple parties. Companies can create programs that offer a multiplayer mode, which means that customers can earn loyalty points or rewards from multiple entities. This enables access to a broader range of rewards and benefits, increasing customer satisfaction. - Javier Arguello, Mercado Libre

8. Tracking And Verifying Carbon Credits

Blockchain can be used for environmental conservation and climate change mitigation by tracking and verifying carbon credits. These permits represent the right to emit a certain amount of greenhouse gases. Blockchain provides a transparent and secure platform for tracking, trading and managing carbon credits, creating more effective climate change strategies and reducing global carbon emissions. - Heather Wilde, theDifference Consulting

9. Opening Up Opportunities In Real Estate Investment

An increasing number of proptech companies use blockchain technology to allow easier, more accessible investments in real estate by offering tokenized shares of rental properties. With some of them, you can start with as little as $50, which is impossible in traditional real estate investing. The use of blockchain technology is making real estate accessible to everyone. - Peter Abualzolof, Mashvisor

10. Maintaining Land Ownership Records

Recently, I have seen many disputes around land ownership in the news. A secure and reliable land ownership system is a must, especially for developing countries. Blockchain offers an avenue to get there by leveraging technology—always a better option than the antiquated computer systems and boxes of paperwork more commonly found in government records. - Rob Versaw, Envista Holdings Corporation

11. Migrating Consumer-Owned Assets Between Digital Worlds

Blockchain is being used as the basis for the ownable digital items that are both an essential part of the interoperability challenge for the metaverse and its main form of monetization. As the metaverse expands, blockchain allows registration and ownership of items, while metaverse standards are emerging to support easier migration of consumer-owned assets between worlds. - Lincoln Wallen, Improbable Worlds

12. Improving User Engagement Through NFTs And Adding New Financial Services

Many brands are looking to improve user engagement and build community using nonfungible tokens. This requires the safe integration of Web3 wallets and infrastructure and compliance with evolving regulations. Clients in the financial services industry are experimenting with decentralized finance protocols to build new financial services by leveraging the public blockchain infrastructure in a compliant way that protects customer safety and security. - Kim Bozzella, Protiviti

13. Verifying Product Authenticity

The unique properties of the blockchain make it the perfect solution for verifying product authenticity. Products that are routinely counterfeited are a perfect fit: Consider the possibility of easily authenticating luxury products such as wine, watches, handbags, shoes, art, collectibles and so on via an app on your phone in conjunction with an NFC chip and the blockchain. - Michael Keithley, United Talent Agency

14. Self-Reporting Data Usage

Leveraging blockchain technology, enterprises can securely, consistently and dependably self-report data usage on both public-operator-owned and private (citizens broadband radio service and so on) spectrums. In a world increasingly dependent on data, there is good reason to expect there to be tampering with this invaluable asset. Blockchain presents an opportunity to enhance the security and validation of growing amounts of data. - Michael Anderson, Expeto

15. Boosting App Developers’ Productivity

Blockchain could help app developers boost productivity. Blockchain ledgers are real-time, event-based data streams. The data sets are massive and are updated in a distributed way by applications and transactions happening all around the world. If an organization could take that data and parse it out efficiently, it could help developers access it quickly with minimal overhead. - Chet Kapoor, DataStax

16. Improving Safety And Security In The Food Supply Chain

Blockchain is brilliant for maintaining and accessing immutable records. For that reason, it can play an important role in improving safety and security in the food supply chain. Blockchain is already being implemented by different companies in the agriculture industry to understand and record food production, surplus and wastage data to improve sustainability. - Somdip Dey, Nosh Technologies

17. Improving Accessibility And Exchange Of Education Credentials

Blockchain could potentially change education. Blockchain-issued digital credentials and certifications in education are tamper-proof, and students can easily share and verify their academic records with employers. Overall, this technology could improve education’s efficacy, security and transparency, making academic data and certificates easier to access and exchange. - Madhavi Shankar, SpaceBasic

18. Enabling Easy And Secure Storage And Sharing Of Patients’ Medical Records

Blockchain can be used to securely store and share medical records with improved patient privacy. Additionally, it can be used to securely transfer funds for medical payments, providing an efficient way to make payments and transfer funds between providers and patients. Moreover, blockchain technology can be used for supply chain management to reduce the spread of counterfeit drugs. - Charos Boboyorova, boboyorova.com