Ensuring the quality of data is unequivocally an issue of significance for many companies across various sectors. While cryptocurrencies may face some limitations in mainstream adoption, blockchain technology will be more readily embraced and can provide many solutions to data issues. As a technology, it is innovative because the information in a blockchain is stored in such a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system, which is just one of its alluring features.

According to a report by Report Linker, the global blockchain market size is expected to grow from $1.06 billion in 2020 to $10.45 billion by 2025. The financial sector has already demonstrated major interest in blockchain technology, but what other industries are adopting it and what impact can it make?

We have outlined 4 cases of real life use, with examples, of companies already building solutions for problems in banking, gaming, construction, and health. 

Blockchain in Banking

It’s been pretty clear that banking has been in desperate need of disruption for quite a while now. While the sector has stayed up to date with technologies in the form of Web2 e-banking web and mobile applications, some of the more fundamental systems that have been in place haven’t been updated or improved for a long time.

Positive developments are predicted as a consequence of blockchain adoption, such as new revenue models, efficiency gains, cut of millions in costs, and the significant lowering of risks industry-wide. Whilst it is hard to say if blockchain will ever have the power to completely replace existing systems, it is quite likely that the influence of the technology will reshape the industry dramatically, fostering a more open and universally accessible financial ecosystem.

Fiat24 is a Swiss fintech company which has created the first core banking system to be built entirely on blockchain. FINMA (Swiss Financial Authorities) regulated, Fiat24 bridges the gap between centralized and decentralized systems, designed for both retail users and merchant clients. Everyone can experience next generation payments with hassle-free and real-time blockchain payments, and extend their payment universe.

When asked how Fiat24 uses blockchain technology to solve some of the issues in the banking industry, Co-Founder Yang Lan said “We are committed to revolutionizing the way banks operate – at Fiat24, we believe that a financial system built on blockchain is the leading tool to achieve the next level of operational efficiency and global currency equality. Relying on both blockchain technology and smart contracts, we invite clients to begin their journey in a new financial universe, empowered through ownership and control.”

Blockchain in Gaming

The gaming industry is famous for being at the forefront of new technologies and has come a long way in a short amount of time, from the more basic consoles of the 90’s to realistic, immersive experiences in virtual reality.

However, blockchain technology can also bring players a completely new kind of power – the ability to earn while playing! No more mom telling you that gaming is a waste of time! Apart from this attractive feature, blockchain will also disrupt gaming by:

• being decentralized, which means that the game is not owned and controlled by a central authority, but rather by the users, who possess digital assets and game objects
• allowing players to hold a particular amount of NFTs on a gaming blockchain, which are game objects. You own them in the same way that you would cryptocurrency, and they are transferable not only to a wallet but also outside of the game

Because of its liquidity and the fact that gamers are used to tokenization, implementing blockchain in gaming is a rather simple process. Also, because many games allow users to buy in-game items with both virtual and real money, experts agree that blockchain would be the best way to keep track of these transactions.

In an interview with TechCrunch, Alex Paley, co-founder of Solana-based blockchain gaming studio Faraway, said “The goal is to bring the Web 2.0 traditional gaming masses to Web3”. The only way you do that is by removing as many artificial barriers as possible.”

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“We see a great future for web3 gaming, and in many ways I see the introduction of blockchain into gaming as transformative as free-to-play gaming was to mobile,” Phil Sanderson, managing director and co-founder of Griffin Gaming, said to TechCrunch.

Blockchain in Construction

While not an issue exclusively experienced in the construction industry, the fact that large parts of digitized information is still hosted on various systems means that challenges such as a lack of transparency and efficiency, and higher rates of inaccuracies create a great potential for fraud and disputes.

Even though until recently blockchain was most commonly known as the technology powering Bitcoin, construction industry players are realizing that blockchain-based smart contracts could play a much larger role in the sector, potentially transforming core operations such as property transactions (purchase, sale, financing, leasing and management).

One issue that blockchain can tackle is the serious flaws in both the origination of construction finance loans and management of loans. The current way of managing these

transactions through extensive paperwork provides opportunities for negligence, whereas a shared ledger visible to all parties simultaneously vastly reduces the potential for malpractice.

Erich Wasserman, Co-Founder of Rigor, said: “As the housing crisis demonstrates, the construction industry’s inability to meet demand has big consequences for all of us. The core problem is a vicious coordination cycle of capital with labor: construction loans are hard to get because they are deemed risky; the risk comes from a lack of controls over money flows through a fragmented supply chain.

“Blockchains enable capital to flow transparently and directly to those responsible for work, enforcing terms of trade via smart contracts programmatically. They go on to enable seamless access to digital money markets, enabling more lenders and pools of capital to confidently fund new construction.”

Blockchain in Health

And finally, we look at how Blockchain technology has the potential to transform health care. By placing patients at the center and increasing security, privacy, and health data, the technology has the potential to disrupt the industry by making medical records more efficient and secure.

Capitalizing on blockchain has the potential to connect fragmented systems and generate insights in order to better assess the value of care. Relying on the blockchain network for electronic medical records could significantly improve efficiencies and support better health outcomes for patients.

Stuart Hanson, CEO of Avaneer Health, says “over the past two years, organizations like IBM and PNC Bank have been collaborating with companies that usually compete against each other – Anthem, Aetna, HCSC, Cleveland Clinic and Sentara Healthcare – to design the governance structure needed to create a community and healthcare network that is blockchain-enabled. Because several organizations are working together toward a common goal, there is an increased likelihood of success. More often in healthcare, we see a single tech company come out with a good idea and try to execute on its own. But with blockchain, at its core, it is founded in community, togetherness, openness and collaboration.” 

An early adopter of blockchain in the health industry, Avaneer offers a utility network that enables access to secure and shareable data to deliver better experiences and better outcomes. Built on blockchain technology, their digital platform allows data to flow rapidly across providers, payers, employers, consumers, and healthcare innovators with privacy, security, and control.

Looking ahead

While Bitcoin’s popularity helped demonstrate blockchain’s application in finance, ultimately, the use cases for a transparent, verifiable register of transaction data are basically endless. Perhaps even more relevant now with the arrival of the metaverse, blockchain technology will only just become more and more significant. With the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), purchases and value storage in virtual reality will increasingly become more of an issue. 

What it comes down to is that the power of blockchain technology simply should not be underestimated, and it’s best to keep an eye on which industry will truly unleash its power and create an impact for society. 

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