Blockchain technology is no longer just the backbone of cryptocurrencies; it has become a powerful tool for real businesses. In a world still reeling from supply-chain disruptions and data breaches, blockchain promises to reinvent trust in multi-party systems. As Deloitte notes, “using blockchain can improve both supply chain transparency and traceability” while cutting costs. Deloitte Deloitte Kevin Werbach of Wharton puts it succinctly: Kevin Werbach Kevin Werbach “Blockchain is not the end of trust. Blockchain is a new structure of trust, a ‘new architecture of trust’ that recreates trust differently.” “Blockchain is not the end of trust. Blockchain is a new structure of trust, a ‘new architecture of trust’ that recreates trust differently.” In practice, companies across industries are piloting blockchains wherever they need a shared, tamper-evident record from tracking produce in a grocer’s cold chain to verifying a customer’s ID, so let’s explore some concrete examples. Transparency in Supply Chains Transparency in Supply Chains Global supply chains have become astonishingly complex. Recent events showed that a single contaminated batch or a port congestion can cause massive delays. To combat this, retailers and shippers are adopting blockchain to track goods end-to-end. A shared ledger lets every participant, from farmer to retailer, append data that cannot be stealthily altered. Deloitte reports that blockchain “provides a trusted shared and reliable way to record, validate, and view transactions across a complex system with many participants, some of whom may not inherently trust each other.” For example, Walmart’s Food Trust network (built with Hyperledger Fabric) now traces dozens of produce items on a blockchain. Its pilots showed that tracing mangoes went from 7 days down to 2.2 seconds, simply by putting origin data on-chain. Today, Walmart “can now trace the origin of over 25 products from 5 different suppliers” on the blockchain, and it is even requiring all leafy-green growers to log data on the network. As Walmart’s food-safety chief Frank Yiannas observes, people often call it a “food supply chain,” but in reality, “it’s not actually a chain, it’s a complex network”. In such a network, a tamper-proof shared ledger turns out to be exactly what’s needed. Karl Bedwell, Senior Director at Walmart Technology, notes that blockchain was “a good fit for this problem, because of its focus on trust, immutability, and transparency.” Walmart’s Walmart’s The logistics industry is seeing similar gains. Maersk and IBM’s TradeLens platform uses blockchain to digitize shipping documents. Instead of faxing cargo manifests and certificates, ports, carriers, customs, and shippers all publish events (loading, arrival, clearance) onto the chain. Lars Kastrup of Maersk explains: “With TradeLens, we want to create an unprecedented level of transparency that enables supply chain players to respond almost instantly to unpredictable changes”. Because most of the world’s largest carriers have joined, TradeLens now covers roughly two-thirds of global container volume. The platform records over 10 million shipping events per week, all visible to permissioned users. As Maersk notes, blockchain produces “a digitized, shared, immutable record of all the transactions that take place within a network”. In practice, this means customs and cargo owners share one source of truth: any party can audit a shipment’s history and trust that everyone else sees the same data. Early results have been promising. TradeLens customers report far fewer delays from missing documents and faster customs clearance, thanks to this single transparent ledger. Maersk Maersk Blockchain’s supply-chain impact isn’t limited to food and containers. In healthcare and pharmaceuticals, it’s being tested for vaccine and drug tracking. The World Economic Forum highlights that “blockchain offers an immutable, decentralized database that can help all parties be sure that vaccine supplies are being stored and handled properly.” For example, temperature data and shipment logs for COVID-19 vaccines can be recorded on-chain, so no one can deny whether cold-chain requirements were met. Similarly, networks like MediLedger (backed by large drug companies) use blockchain to trace drug provenance and fight counterfeits. In each case, the goal is the same: when multiple organizations don’t fully trust each other, a permissioned blockchain provides a tamper-proof way to share critical data and dramatically accelerate any recall or verification process. highlights highlights Digital Identity and Credentials Digital Identity and Credentials Blockchain isn’t just for tracking products; it’s also reshaping digital identity. Every year, businesses grapple with identity fraud and KYC (Know Your Customer) compliance. If identity attributes (passports, licenses, certificates) are issued and verified on a blockchain, then anyone in the network can instantly check their authenticity. For example, Estonia’s government has effectively built a blockchain-like system to secure all citizen records: health data, land titles, e-residency credentials, you name it. As the e-Estonia site proudly notes, with their Keyless Signature Infrastructure, “the authenticity of electronic data can be mathematically proven” and “nobody… can manipulate the data”. This means if a doctor or bank queries an Estonian citizen’s digital ID, they know it hasn’t been forged or altered, without having to query a central database. e-Estonia e-Estonia Big tech and financial firms are exploring similar ideas. IBM, for instance, promotes blockchain-based identity networks that let individuals carry cryptographically-secured credentials. In IBM’s words, with blockchain, “information about identity is auditable, traceable, and verifiable in just seconds.” Imagine a customer opening a bank account: instead of submitting paper documents or relying on an external agency, the bank simply requests a proof-of-identity credential on the chain. The network instantly confirms whether the customer’s driver’s license or passport is genuine, without exposing the full document. Likewise, a university diploma or professional license could be issued as a blockchain-verified claim that any employer can check. In all these cases, businesses gain efficiency, and consumers get privacy: each party sees only what they need, yet everyone shares a single ledger of truth. In short, blockchain-based identity lets organizations improve security and user control in online authentication and KYC processes. IBM IBM Marketing, Advertising, and Loyalty Programs Marketing, Advertising, and Loyalty Programs Marketing and advertising have also found practical blockchain use-cases. Digital ad networks today struggle with fraud (fake clicks and bots) and opaque middlemen. A blockchain can enforce transparency: every ad impression, bid, and click can be written to a shared ledger so that no party can later alter or double-count it. This “cost-saving transparency” is exactly what marketers need: a decentralized log that any advertiser, agency, or publisher can audit. For example, IBM teamed with ad-platform Mediaocean to build an end-to-end blockchain ledger of ad campaigns. In that system, when an advertiser’s budget buys an ad, the event is recorded on-chain. Later, when a website reports a click or impression, that too is logged. Because everyone’s looking at the same history, it’s virtually impossible to surreptitiously inflate numbers or siphon off funds. Early pilots of blockchain ad ledgers show significant reductions in “ghost ads” and billing disputes, and they promise to shift more of the spend directly to publishers and content creators. IBM IBM Blockchain is a perfect fit for loyalty and rewards programmes. Rather than the usual opaque point accounts, companies can create tokens on a blockchain. For example, a specialty in Blockchain for loyalty programmes, like Loyyal, lets airlines, hotels & banks issue points as digital tokens & consumers can stockpile or exchange them across partner businesses. Every token's life cycle, issued, transferred, and redeemed, is recorded in a permanent digital record (the blockchain), so both customers and marketers can clearly see where the points came from & how they were used. This openness makes programmes more interesting, maybe users can swap unused airline miles for hotel credits and wipes out fraud points that can't be just faked or endlessly used again. Industry experts agree that with blockchain, marketing teams can "get a hold on data better, get a more in-depth understanding of customer interactions and build real relationships with customers". In reality, this means you get reliable & trustworthy reports of campaign results & loyalty balances, turning marketing from guesswork into a real process with a record of what happened. Blockchain Blockchain Industry experts Industry experts Blockchain is a natural fit for loyalty and rewards programs as well. Instead of opaque point accounts, companies can mint tokens on a blockchain. For instance, Loyyal offers a blockchain platform for loyalty points: airlines, hotels, and banks can issue points as tokens, and consumers can accumulate or exchange them across partners. Every token’s lifecycle issuance, transfer, and redemption is immutably recorded on-chain, so both customers and marketers see exactly where the points came from and how they were spent. This transparency makes programs more engaging (users might trade unused airline miles for hotel credits) and eliminates fraud (points cannot be faked or endlessly recycled). More broadly, industry analysts note that blockchain lets marketing teams “better manage data, gain deeper insights into audience interactions and cultivate meaningful customer relationships.” In practice, this means faster, trustworthy reporting of campaign results and loyalty balances, turning marketing from guesswork into a verifiable ledger-driven process. blockchain blockchain industry analysts industry analysts Other Business Applications Other Business Applications While supply chain, identity, and advertising are headline use-cases, blockchain is making inroads in many other business domains. Banks and trade finance networks are utilizing blockchains to automate complex transactions. For example, several large banks jointly use blockchain-based trade platforms (such as Marco Polo and Contour) to issue digital letters of credit and settle transactions, drastically reducing paperwork and payment delays. In the energy sector, startups and utilities are piloting blockchain-powered grids that enable households to buy and sell solar power peer-to-peer, and where emissions credits are transparently tracked. Even public services are exploring blockchains: land registries (to prevent deed fraud) and voting pilots (to audit tallies) have been tried in places like Sweden and India. The common theme in each case is multi-party coordination: whenever several organizations must agree on shared data, a permissioned blockchain can reduce reconciliation headaches and errors. While not every industry needs a blockchain, the above examples show that well-designed DLT systems can eliminate intermediaries, cut fraud, and enhance transparency across many sectors. Conclusion Conclusion In short, blockchain’s impact today comes from embedding trust and traceability into real-world workflows, not from speculative crypto markets. Whether tracking romaine lettuce back to the farm, verifying a digital ID in seconds, or logging every advertising dollar, businesses are finding concrete value. These systems may not be flashy cryptocurrency token projects, but they solve real pain points. If a company’s challenge involves many distrustful parties sharing data, “a new architecture of trust” can be built with blockchain. As blockchain networks mature and integrate with IoT and AI, we can expect even more such enterprise use-cases. The key lesson: smart business leaders focus on what problem they’re solving, and use blockchain as the tool to lock in transparency, not as an end in itself. In that sense, the blockchain renaissance beyond crypto is just getting started.

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

Blockchain Beyond Crypto: Real-World Use Cases

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