Since lately the word is very fashionable and is described as a possible solution to all ills, I still see a lot of people who are struggling to understand from a practical point of view its possible uses so I decided to list a couple of uses of this in the hope of helping someone to understand it more. Blockchain technology After all the hype that has been created towards the end of 2017, the word Blockchain is on everyone’s lips. All startups are now dealing with that, all are blockchain enthusiast but at the end of the day, few people manage to indicate in a simple way what can really be done it. Before starting, however, I want to make a couple of clarifications: but IT IS ONE of the 4 underlying technologies. These are the blockchain (for the note), the consensus mechanism (ie the Proof of Work of Bitcoin and Ethereum), the peer-to-peer network and the cryptography. Everyone for the sake of simplicity merges all of those in the word “Blockchain” and I will do the same, but remember that . Many start-ups often take advantage of this word so always inquire thoroughly on the projects you follow. Blockchain IS NOT the technology behind cryptocurrencies all 4 of those technologies are all fundamental Below I will list only uses that today are 100% feasible and not so difficult to implement by focusing mainly on the . Smart contracts are nothing more than programs that run continuously on the blockchain. You can think about them as a coffee machine: I put the money and select the product. Once the machine has verified the transaction it gives you the product. possibilities offered by smart contracts The Blockchain on which these applications are built or where the smart contracts run Otherwise, the whole thing would be useless because there would be no difference between using a Blockchain and a traditional database. Indeed worse, both in terms of speed and the risk of losing money. must be consolidated, secure and decentralized. Ok, let’s start! A smart contract can be used to create where money should be sent only . For example, you can deposit money on a smart contract where inside there is a timer that, in the end, sends the money deposited to the chosen recipient. Giving security to the recipient that the money will surely arrive and to the sender that the money is sent only after a given condition. agreements after a certain condition has been triggered Smart contracts can be used to fairly, according to agreements and transparent to all. Without any need for intermediaries. manage payments within a company You can create accounts where money can be moved and used (multi-signature technology). only with the consent of several owners , and not, to understand how this is used. Trace the investment of public money You can use Blockchain and smart contracts to : for example, if a certain target is not reached, the money can automatically be sent back to the lenders without having to trust to any third party. And I’m not talking just about ICOs but about the crowdfunding world in general. automate crowdfunding and make it transparent Blockchain can be used for . Yes, the blockchain elections will be the future, even if there are still some problems to be overcome, but in the meantime, also of voting in online communities to favor the transparency and solidity of the data, it’s a good start. transparent voting systems You can build (I think about freelancer applications or affiliate marketing programs) where the user has , without having to wait for the owner of the service to give him the permission to withdraw his money, requiring in some cases even very high fees or setting completely absurd conditions unfavorable to the end user. apps that manage money complete control over their money Create . censorship-resistant applications Increase and pass back control and responsibility of data to individuals. user privacy I wanted to keep it simple and those are just a few usage scenarios that came in my mind. According to you, what else can the Blockchain and the smart contracts be used for in the present?
