2018 Blockchain Trends & Forecast

Today we hear such words as “blockchain” and “cryptocurrency” almost every day. Some may think that blockchain is mainly connected with cryptocurrencies. But the sphere of its usage is much wider. But first, let’s define what blockchain is.

Blockchain is an encoded digital ledger that is stored on multiple computers in a public or private network. The working mechanism of this technology is hidden in its name. Blockchain comprises data records, or “blocks”. Once these blocks are collected in a chain, they cannot be changed or deleted by a single actor; instead, they are verified and managed using automation and shared governance protocols.

Thanks to its high security it’s used in data management, energy industry, E-voting, government, media & content distribution and many others. So, here’s the list of blockchain trends 2018.

Trend 1: IoT

The first thing that is associated with the use of blockchain in the Internet of Things (IoT) is the security and integration of the data. In fact, the possibilities of using blockchain in IoT are much wider and deeper, and therefore the combination of these two technologies can potentially have a great synergetic effect.

There are a number of applications where blockchain can support the growth and development of IoT. Among them there is control of fraud, identification management, transactions, verification of the elements of various systems, ensuring the quality of data, and so on.

The service Chimera offers an innovative care system for the elderly people and people in need. It uses devices (bracelets and medallions) and applications for collection and analysis of vital information, whether a person needs help.

Trend 2: Charity and volunteerism

Charity is another popular field where blockchain can be used, although so far only in theory.

Most of the charity organizations don’t benefit from since many people forget that they have their internal expenses and half of the gathered money should be spent on the marketing, workers’ salaries and technical expenses. It is a problem for them to give the whole access to the information and give the control over the system as it will be obvious how the money went on charity and which exactly things were donated. It means that all the transactions will be opened but at the same time, it will help to have the whole information structured and keep it in one place.

The proposed solutions are to give charity organizations the opportunity to plan projects themselves and vote for them through the principles of the DAO (decentralized autonomous organizations) or to introduce a system of volunteers who will monitor the optimal expenditure of funds so that charity goes to a real good.

Trend 3: Logistics management

Retail stores can use applications based on blockchain to track the movement of their goods. In this system, you can post and get information about the processing time of the item, the date it was received at each point of the itinerary. In addition, there a lot more parameters which can be monitored: the temperature of storage in a particular room, the state of the products, the list of responsible persons. This transparency of the entire process reduces the risks of losses, theft, damage to goods and cargo. To sum it up, the main pros of using blockchain in logistics are improvements in transparency and data sharing across the supply chain, better tracking of orders, reducing errors and better fraud detection.

Provenance company develops such kind of applications that track the entire chain of goods moving, even if it is repeatedly packed and labeled on the way. This increases the credibility of manufacturers who are willing to share such data with their customers.

Trend 4: Goods origin control

It goes without saying, consumers began to make a conscious choice of products. They pay attention to how ethic the manufacturers are, in what ecological environment the goods were created. Blockchain can store a lot of information of this kind, providing the most detailed information at every stage of the product circle from the manufacturer to the buyer.

This approach is important not only in the market of products where supporters of a healthy lifestyle want to know the region of production of vegetables, fruits, meat or fish. In the sphere of expensive luxury goods, it is also very important to know which brand is genuine, and which offers counterfeiting. Manufacturers of original products can label it in a special way and place information using blockchain technology. Buyers of expensive accessories Gucci or Hermes will be able to reduce the risk of buying a counterfeit.

In the market, there are already several solutions for verifying the authenticity of expensive goods: Block Verify and EverLedger. They allow you to mark the goods at the production stage and place the appropriate tags using blockchain. This electronic certificate helps buyers check the product, register on the network their right to use it after purchase. This is a useful feature in case of robbery or theft.

Trend 5: Guarantees management

Applications on the blockchain of this type offer users to move all paper warranty cards to the digital database. The information stored there will guarantee their authenticity, it can be used at any time, from anywhere in the city or the world. This will allow not to think about how to find the warranty card before calling the master, will give a chance to repair the equipment for free on trips.

This type of solution includes Warranteer, the application is already used by some manufacturers of home electronics, offering customers the warranty obligations of its manufacturers fixed in the blockchain.

Trend 6: Loyalty programs

Blockchain is able to make a revolution in loyalty programs if it allows consumers to accumulate all bonuses in a single environment, and then exchange them. And the suppliers of goods or services themselves can sell such bonuses, especially for airlines or banks. Sellers will have the opportunity to carefully study the preferences and habits of their customers, this will allow them to create more personalized offers for them.

One of the applications of this type is Loyyal. It allows users to independently combine multiple bonuses from different companies into a single system.

Trend 7: Monitoring the viewing of advertising

There began to appear programs based on blockchain, which can make sure that the ads were viewed by real people, not bots. This will allow advertisers to save billions of dollars, which are now simply lost.

For example, the AdChain application uses its own tokens to verify users, ensuring that companies receive real views for which they are paid.

Blockchain technology has been developed for more than ten years. But only recently its use in various spheres is gaining more interest and value. Previously, its use was limited by financial services in the network, but now it covers many industries. Marketing agents and sellers can implement it in their activities to improve their products, their offers to consumers. Blockchain also allows you to optimize the costs of certification and transportation of products.

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