By Phil Hauck, Envision Board of Directors
(following signals of Artificial Intelligence)
Blockchain, originally created to support Bitcoin, now has a life of its own. It is an internet-based software application that: documents a sequence of inputs (blocks) that can’t be changed (so they remain transparent); is private to the specific users; and is virtually impervious to hacking (therefore secure). On average, blockchain stocks have doubled in value during the past year. Blockchain is now used for payment processing in our banking system, for smart contracts, crowdfunding, health information and other transactions requiring security. It has even been used to allow secure voting by remote military personnel, and a few counties have tried it with success for other voting applications. Blockchain can be hacked, but only with great difficulty.
Other countries are now embracing this new technology. Despite its small size, Estonia is one of the world’s most technologically advanced countries. With the second-fastest public Wi-Fi in the world, every Estonian citizen has had a digital ID card for two decades now. Virtually the entire government data structure of the country is Blockchain-based for privacy reasons. Citizens can access ALL of their personal data within the government, so there’s no standing in line to deal with any government service.
South Korea is now issuing blockchain-protected digital copies of each person’s COVID vaccination record to prevent counterfeiting. And China, not surprisingly, has more than half of the world’s blockchain patent applications – and markets them all over the world. In the meantime, U.S. officials are still questioning the value of blockchain.
Keep watching. You’ll be using blockchain soon.