Practical applications of the blockchain for business leaders

Blockchain in simple terms, is a distributed digital ledger that allows us to store data in a decentralized network without the need for a central source/server.

• It is changing the way we store and update transactions as in the case of bitcoin.
• It is changing the way we create & Manage software solutions as in the case of decentralized applications.
• It is changing the way organizations are made as in the case of web3 platforms.

If you would like a breakdown of blockchain and the technology behind it, read my previous article on it here.

We will be moving forward to explain blockchain applications as presented in the course; blockchain beyond the basics.

Blockchain is considered for all manner of novel solutions, we’ll be exploring some ways blockchain is being used in today's world

Validate Financial Transactions

Fintech has been an early adopter of the blockchain through bitcoin. Blockchain completely removes the need for banks when sending and receiving money so that people can receive money through peer-to-peer transfers.

With bitcoin, verification of these transactions come through a consensus from people called miners. Transactions are only validated when a group of people have verified them. Using this key technology, you can now see how blockchain can be utilised to curb financial oversight for companies processing millions of transactions.

Cross Border Payment Systems

The global financial system is complex and restrictive. Think about how long and how much it would take for Company A in say Amsterdam, to send money to your company, Company B in Nigeria

• Company A transferred to a cross border bank in Nigeria
• Cross border bank converts to the dollar and takes 5 days to send to company B
• Company B receives in dollars and has to convert money back to naira
• All of these can take days, even weeks for large sums of money.

There are high charges incurred to send a huge amount of money across borders. How might this be solved? Blockchains can enable faster and cheaper cross border payment. For example, Ripple blockchain supports rapid cross border payments, with its native coin called XRP, which is used to sponsor its transactions.

How does cross border payment works using XRP

• XRP provides the vehicle for sending and receiving payments.

• Company A sends XRP to Company B’s Bank, which is a RippleNet, (a bank that belongs to the Ripple Network)

• where it is converted to Company B’s currency, where it is forwarded to Company B.

This process, which takes, days or even weeks in a traditional bank only takes a few seconds to be completed with ripple blockchain

Digital Signature

How are you sure that a message sent to you was sent by the right person? How do you prove that? Through the use of a private key. This is possible through the core technology of blockchain called cryptography.

Cryptography is a way to create a message so that only authorised persons can open the message and read it. Using cryptography a message is “encrypted” by being converted to ciphertext, when it arrives at the true receiver, it can be decrypted using a private key. Blockchain uses public-key cryptography (PKC) which contains 2 keys, a public key and a private key.

If a public key is your home address, a private key is a key to the house. Messages are sent through a public key which you open with a private key. This means PKC can be used for the authentication of highly sensitive documents.

Your private key represents your digital signature since you sign a message with a private key. When sending an electronic message, the message is signed with a private key, when a message is received, the receiver uses the public key to verify the right private key is matched. If the private key doesn't match the public key, it is rejected.

For Identity and Access Management

How do you ascertain the right identity? We use a driver's licence & international passport. Online becomes worst with the centralised authentication system The problem with centralised authentication is that they are non-portable, and they can be easily hacked, not to think of a great deal of trust.

How does blockchain solve this?

Through Public & private key cryptography.

Asset Ownership & Title Registries

How do you verify who owns buildings and lands is undetermined economic development. $9.3 million dollars land assets and there are many corruptions. How does it apply here in Nigeria? Fake land sales is one of the major issues here in Nigeria as many communities do not store property information digitally. This means if these paper certifications are lost, it will be extremely difficult to prove land ownership

The state of Georgia is already using blockchain to verify land ownership. When a transaction is made, an immutable hash was uploaded to the bitcoin blockchain. This immutable hash can not be changed

Online Voting

The internet has changed a lot of industries but one of the toughest industries to penetrate is politics. We have struggled to use the internet to vote and have proved futile. Voting is a crucial aspect of any nation; it greatly relies on trust. The trust which has not been fully developed with the internet for example

How do you prove the identity of the voter? How do you ensure everyone votes just once? How can you prove that votes are not duplicated in the collation and counting process?

In summary, there are many benefits of blockchain, blockchain offers advantages to private companies that are too compelling to ignore. Many private companies are already finding managed has found a home in enterprises, blockchain is finding diverse values in the supply chain, and online identity management, it is still adding value in new and unexpected ways.

For innovators, leaders, CEOs and technologists, blockchain is becoming a solution too powerful to ignore. As a leader, who is driven by innovation, how can you use blockchain to provide solutions in your organization?

Please share your thoughts here, stating your business and industry, someone here might just profer the perfect solution to you