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Which Industries Have Adopted Blockchain Technology?

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Which Industries Have Adopted Blockchain Technology

Are you a Blockchain enthusiast? Wondering which industries have adopted Blockchain and how? Well, you have landed on the right page. This article enlists top industries that have adopted Blockchain for good. 

Table of Contents

  • Top Industries Leveraging Blockchain Technology 
  • Concluding Lines: Is Blockchain a Room for Development?

Top Industries Leveraging Blockchain Technology 

The majority of people understand Blockchain in relation to cryptocurrency. However, a number of mainstream industries, including finance, supply chain, gaming, and others, have started to use blockchain technology without any digital currencies. 

Let’s have a look at how such industries are using Blockchain for their operations. 

Finance 

Finance is one of the most crucial applications of Blockchain. In fact, it is easy to see how Blockchain’s properties make it ideal for financial applications. Banks and other financial institutions are already using Blockchain for seamless cross-border payments, clearing settlements, digital identity management, and for other varying purposes. By offering decentralization, immutability transparency, and security, it can facilitate international payments and help perform worldwide financial transactions. By removing irrelevant intermediaries, it can simplify the entire transaction process and allow instant payment solutions globally. 

AIB, Bank of Cyprus, China Banking Association, DNB, and many others are using Blockchain. 

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Supply Chain 

As various top companies have started realizing the potential of Blockchain, they have started implementing it for real-time data access, privacy, traceability, and auditability for their supply chain management.

For instance, Walmart, a well-known American multinational retail corporation, is utilizing Blockchain technology to add transparency, reliability, and traceability to its food supply ecosystem by digitizing the entire food supply chain process. Similarly, De Beers, the world’s biggest diamond producer by the value of its gems, is using Blockchain to track every natural diamond from the mine to the retail counter.

Apart from this, FedEx, United Parcel Service(UPS), and others are using this technology for their efficient supply chain.

According to the WEF study, Blockchain could contribute to a $365 billion savings by reducing food loss and waste in the food supply chain by 2030. 

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Gaming Industry 

Blockchain has entered the gaming industry as well, and it is positively profiting both developers and gamers by providing a reliable and secure environment for developers with encryption techniques to secure crypto transactions. Also, with the concept of tokenization, it is enabling gamers to buy and sell game assets securely. Moreover, smart contract functionalities enable players to transfer all their in-game assets to their public addresses, thus providing complete control over digital assets.

Unlike traditional games, where powers are in the hands of players where they can abruptly shut down games, blockchain-based games give much access and control to players over their games.  

Age of Rust, Crypto Space Commander, CryptoWars, Gods Unchained are some of the interesting Blockchain-based games. 

Pharmaceuticals

Blockchain technology continues to attract attention in the pharmaceutical domain. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, government institutions globally have incorporated Blockchain technology. Blockchain can help in maintaining a supply chain visibility, providing real-time logging and data visualization of disease spread, early detection of epidemics, verifying communities and workplaces that are risk-free from the coronavirus outbreak, and much more. 

In 2020, several government institutions made announcements regarding plans to adopt DLT for multiple use cases, including the healthcare space. For instance, recently, it was announced that Cyprus’s Mediterranean Hospital utilizes the VeChain platform to store its COVID-19 vaccination records. Similarly, in November 2020, it was announced that South Korean hospitals aim to usher in the new healthcare era by utilizing Blockchain technology. 

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Voting 

Blockchain can play a significant role in voting as well. It can help in maintaining digital identity, prevents hacking and fraud, and allows anonymous voting. Moreover, Blockchain-based voting eliminates electoral malpractices like manipulations, tampering, recording errors, etc.

For example, South Korea has considered moving to the Blockchain for security reasons. Similarly, it was announced that the Indian state of Telangana is developing a blockchain-based electronic voting system to facilitate remote voting. Apart from this, Russia, the United States, and many others have already used a blockchain electronic voting system. 

 Concluding Lines

Of course, these aren’t the only industries that are exploring Blockchain, but the ones that have taken active steps towards near future implementation. If you are interested in learning more about Blockchain technology and its use-cases, check out the best Blockchain Certification courses at Blockchain Council and become a Certified Blockchain Expert.

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online blockchain certifications, check out Blockchain Council.

Which Industries Have Adopted Blockchain Technology?

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Bitcoin flippens Russian ruble after Tesla purchase

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After hitting a new all-time high of more than $48,000 earlier today, the market capitalization of Bitcoin has surpassed the total market cap of the Russian ruble. 

According to data from AssetDash, Bitcoin’s market cap is $871 billion at the time of publication. This exceeds the money supply of the Russian ruble, which as of January was estimated to be 58.6 trillion RUB, currently valued at roughly $791.1 billion. The crypto asset has also overtaken Tesla Motors in market capitalization after a brief retreat yesterday — the car manufacturer’s market cap is $813 billion at the time of publication, having fallen 1.8% in the last 24 hours.

The price rise that led to Bitcoin flipping the ruble in value followed news that Tesla had purchased an aggregate of $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, to be held as an investment and store of value for its excess cash. The price of BTC subsequently surged to a new all-time high of $48,200. Though it has since fallen under $47,000, the market cap of the crypto asset remains higher than that of Tesla and Facebook, and is gaining on Chinese multinational tech conglomerate Tencent, currently valued at $911 billion.

Bitcoin’s market cap was already worth more than the total value of many fiat currencies around the world, including the Mexican peso at roughly $731 billion. Though Bitcoin (BTC) remains the top rated asset on CoinMarketCap, the analytics website is currently listing the Tesla Model 3 above the coin in the “0” position, with the vehicle retailing at $37,990 in the U.S.

Bitcoin flippens Russian ruble after Tesla purchase

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How CBDC Affected Crypto Space and What’s Next?

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Wondering what exactly CBDC is? How it affected crypto space in 2020, and what will it bring for the future? You have landed on the right page.

Table of Contents

  • What Exactly is CBDC?
  • Why is CBDC Gaining Momentum?
  • CBDC’s Effect on Crypto Space in 2020 and What’s Next in 2021?
  • Concluding Lines 

What Exactly is CBDC?

CBDC is a digital payment device that is issued and backed directly by the country’s central bank and is a legal tender. Instead of relying on third-party intermediaries such as banks and other entities, money transfers could be made directly between the participating parties in real-time.

Blockchain experts and technocrats consider CBDC as a new payment technology that could potentially increase payment efficiency and lower costs. It allows more direct control of the money supply than indirect tools and leads the way towards a full reserve banking system.


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Why is CBDC Gaining Momentum?

The Bank for International Settlements reported in January 2019 that around 70% of central banks were studying the potential of issuing a CBDC. But 2020 has been a promising year in terms of CBDC adoption. It was reported that around 80% of the world’s central banks such as Australia, Brazil, Estonia, Kenya, Russia, Sweden, Thailand, and many others are already evaluating CBDC adoption.

Central banks in developing market economies are moving toward developing CBDCs more swiftly than developed countries. Also, the competition of launching their respective CBDC between the United States and China led to the tech cold war. The conversation of this technology competition was even brought to the U.S Senate. 

There are various reasons for rapid CBDC adoption. European Central Bank, BIS, and many experts and technocrats believe that the COVID-19 outbreak is one of the prime reasons. 

CBDCs are crucial for the advancement of the financial system, as they can boost bank balances, radically modify conventional finance, reshape global markets, alter our perceptions of money and how we use it by substituting currency. 

CBDC’s Effect on Crypto Space in 2020 and What’s Next in 2021?

Brian Brooks, who is an acting comptroller of the currency, expressed his views regarding CBDC. He believes that at this tremendous development phase, the crucial question is how to achieve the digitization of the dollar and other fiat currencies. He mentions that due to the vital role of the U.S. dollar, the United States should step forward in this domain.

Another expert, a founder of Neo, and founder and CEO of Onchain, Da Hongfei, also shared his opinion on the impact of CBDCs. He believes that the implementation of CBDCs will certainly be a boon as its development declares the integral role blockchain technology will play in building the future of tomorrow. As blockchain development spurs, countries recognize the necessity to build a truly digital future that will fix global order shortcomings. 

According to Denelle Dixon, CEO and executive director of the Stellar Development Foundation, CBDC will prove to be an inventive tool for financial inclusion. She highlighted, saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has proved that CBDCs are impactful and central banks and other entities are recognizing ways to serve citizens better and create equitable access to the financial system, which is way much better. She further added that 2021 would see central banks take the learnings from 2020 and start placing CBDCs into practice.

James Wallis, vice president of central bank engagements at Ripple, expressed his views and stated that in 2021 he expects to see a world where crypto assets, stablecoins, and CBDCs have their own place in the finance domain with even more comprehensible and precise use cases. As governments continue to pilot CBDCs, he thinks that more regulatory clarity in those jurisdictions will follow suit. 

Mance Harmon, co-founder and CEO of Hedera Hashgraph, shared his opinion stating that CBDC will continue to put a spotlight on the wider cryptocurrency and distributed ledger domain, and in next year, we will notice small countries issuing their first digital currencies apparently using private, permissioned ledgers.

Roger Ver, executive chairman of Bitcoin.com, also thinks that the pace of innovation is going to grow and develop in the years to come.

Want to become a Certified Cryptocurrency Expert? We are here to assist you!

Concluding Lines 

From the above discussion, it is clear that CBDC holds a very promising future in the years to come. People would prefer CBDC over a bank account because of the fact that central bank digital currencies are not vulnerable to risk. Moreover, the removal of that risk would not only be advantageous to citizens but to the economy as well.

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council.

How CBDC Affected Crypto Space and What’s Next?

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Russian Officials Must Declare Crypto Holdings

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In a new move, Russian authorities have announced that officials have to start declaring their crypto holdings. They reversed a 2018 decision that did not require the declaration from officials.

Mandatory disclosure for public officials

Disclosure of crypto holdings will be considered mandatory for Russian public officials started January 1, 2021. The requirement was announced by Igor Krasnov, the Russian prosecutor general held a meeting with 15 fellow prosecutor generals representing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). He announced the new requirements on October 20, saying,

“Starting next year, civil servants will be required to declare [virtual] currencies on an equal basis with other assets.”

Russian Officials Must Declare Crypto Holdings

The Russian labor ministry announced in 2018 that public officials do not need to declare virtual asset holdings in their tax reports. It said that the status of crypto was unregulated, hence it was not to be included in tax reports. However, concerns about cryptocurrencies being used as instruments of bribery and corruption started to rise.

What brings new requirements?

The office of the Prosecutor General claims that it has confiscated over $440 million worth of undisclosed, non-cryptocurrency assets from public officials in the past three years. The new requirements come after President Vladimir Putin signed new laws in July that would classify crypto assets as physical commodities started in 2021. This is the first time that virtual currencies will be recognized in the country. The laws still do not recognize cryptocurrencies as legal tender. However, it would make crypto-activities legal in the country.

SCO member states include Russia, China, India, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Non-member partners and observer states like Armenia, Cambodia, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Iran, Belarus, and Afghanistan were also present during the meeting. As Russia has announced mandatory crypto reporting requirements, it is likely that similar reporting requirements could be enacted in other European nations soon.

The Russian Federal Financial Monitoring Service claimed to have developed a partial de-anonymization system for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Monero in August. It also said that it is planning to sell the system to overseas countries interested in the system.

Russian Officials Must Declare Crypto Holdings

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Russia’s business mogul picks interest in a new DeFi project

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Russian businessman Aleksandr Lebedev is supporting a new decentralized finance project, which will compete across a wide range of financial products.

The self-professed “ex-oligarch” is gearing towards a decentralized space, making him the latest business mogul to join the DeFi train. He will be the second prominent businessman in Russia to join the blockchain industry, after a massive investment by Russia’s richest man Vladmir Potanin.

Lebedev will provide initial funding

RBC, Russian financial publication, said Lebedev will provide the initial funding for the DeFi startup, which will work under the name, Independent Decentralized Finance Ecosystem (InDeFinEco).

According to the report, Lebedev is investing about $15 million into the DeFi project as the initial funding for the project. He is not alone as Sergey Mendeleev, founder of Russian exchange Garantex, is collaborating with Lebedev on the project. Lebedev has spoken about the project’s funding, saying a Defi product doesn’t need heavy investment at the initial stage of the project.

“DeFi does not require serious investment from a development standpoint,” he said.

According to Lebedev, majority of the initial funding will be used for initial liquidity seeding.

Project will use active portfolio management tools

The project intends to use a lending platform like Aave or Compond, and will be using a combination of several DeFi primitives as one.

Meanwhile, Mendeleev revealed more information about the project, as the developers will use active portfolio management tools, similar to Rari Capital or Yearn Finance. The plan also includes the development of complex derivatives such as options and futures on real estate and cryptocurrency gold. Lebedev said as it stands, Defi projects don’t have any analogous ecosystems, which is right looking at the particular combination of the InDeFinEco project. But this is not the first time the individual concepts will be used, as projects such as Synthetix and Opyn focuses on derivative trading.

Lebedev also revealed that the focus is to make the project one of the top ten existing Defi projects, with proposed total value reaching the $500 million mark. He also mentioned how the feat will be achieved. According to him, the plan is not to concentrate only on high yield but to add attractive features on the platform as well.

The plan is to incorporate the project in Switzerland, probably in the crypto-friendly Zug valley, as the region is one of the most favorable places for finance projects like this one. Aleksandr Lebedev, like many other Russian oligarchs, started his career in the KGB and the Soviet Community Party. He bought the National Reserve Bank of Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. Presently, the bank is considered one of the largest in Russia.

His net worth is believed to be in the region of $400 to $500 million, although he was worth more than a billion before the Russian Central Bank sliced his fortune after a big financial investigation.

He is also part owner of Novaya Gazeta, a Russian newspaper, as well as the owner of The Independent, a British publication.

Russia’s business mogul picks interest in a new DeFi project

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Crooked police chief sentenced to 8 years for dark web shenanigans

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Former police chief Yuri Zaitsev was recently sentenced to eight years in prison for acting as a bounty hunter for a dark web marketplace. In December 2018, Zaitsev was working as the leader of his unit within the Main Directorate for Drugs Control of the Republic of Khakassia — a law enforcement division which is analogous to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA. At that time, he initiated contact with the operator of a dark net marketplace, offering to help hunt down a man who had appropriated drugs that were entrusted to him for placement in dead drops. 

In Russia, unlike the U.S., most dark web entrepreneurs do not trust the post office for shipments. The prevailing mode of dissemination of these illegal products is instead completed through dead drops — a method of delivery by which two parties can pass items or information back and forth without ever needing to meet in person.

According to the Main Investigation Department, the cop had received the equivalent of 52,000 roubles in Bitcoin (BTC) for his services. At the time, this was equivalent to approximately, $750 or 0.2 BTC. He was found guilty on charges of bribery and the disclosure of classified information.

According to Zaitsev’s wife, his prosecution was punishment for investigating senior officials within his agency. He was subsequently fired and prosecuted. From October-November 2019, Zaitsev uploaded a number of videos to YouTube in which he allegedly exposed corruption among senior officials in his Directorate. This appears to be what led to criminal charges against him for disclosure of classified information. In November 2019, Zaitsev uploaded an appeal to president Putin on YouTube in which he pleaded his case, but to no avail.

During the unrelated Silk Road investigation, numerous law enforcement officials fell afoul to what they perceived as easy, untraceable Bitcoin. DEA Special Agent Carl Force managed to elicit 1,200 Bitcoin from Ross Ulbricht. He obtained the funds using an elaborate scheme in which he had created multiple fake personas ranging from a major South American drug trafficker to a corrupt law enforcement official. One of the tasks assigned to him by Ulbricht was hunting down and murdering a former associate who allegedly had stolen Bitcoin from him. The actual thief was another law enforcement official involved in the investigation. The murder was staged by Force, but never materialized in actuality.

The events that took place in Khakasia a few years after the Silk Road saga seem in some ways like a cheap local knockoff of an expensive HBO show. As Marx once said, history repeats itself “the first time as tragedy, the second as farce”.

Crooked police chief sentenced to 8 years for dark web shenanigans

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