After its introduction in 2008 as an underlying technology for Bitcoin, the blockchain technology has broken all the barriers to development. The journey of blockchain started as an initial technology for cryptocurrency but today it is emerging as the fundamental tool of development for governments, global enterprises, and financial institutions. Blockchain has sight applications in every possible industry you can think of & people are finally realizing the unlimited potential of blockchain to revolutionize the world. Currently, blockchain has been adopted by various financial institutions and banks resulting in efficient, economical and secure services. It has finally set its place as the catalyst to propel the future of other industries and surprisingly the technology itself has become a multi-billion dollar industry.

The blockchain economy does have a strong presence, as measured by diverse metrics such as the coin market capitalizations, investment in the sector, number of startups, people working in the sector, lines of GitHub code committed, and the amount of “newspaper ink” devoted to the sector.

Blockchain Tied To Digital Currencies

The total value of digital currencies right now is just over $587 billion, Bitcoin dominating the market with the market capitalization of a whopping $317 billion followed by Ether, the second-largest digital currency with a market cap of $68.9 billion. Moreover, according to Peter Smith, the chief executive officer of Blockchain Ltd. by 2018 the total valuation of cryptocurrencies will loom around $1 trillion. In fact, some crypto investors and market players think bitcoin alone will be worth $1 trillion in the near future.  This growth of blockchain based currencies has brought the blockchain to a new level of success. And after the creation of Ethere

um, a new blockchain platform, people have started realizing that the blockchain technology could work independently from bitcoin & its potential beyond bitcoin. There are over 1,300 cryptocurrencies in the world and each of them is somehow tied up with the blockchain technology.

Moreover, unparalleled potential of blockchain has started igniting the retail investors and traders to invest and trade in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). To get an idea of the growth of ICOs over the last few years, look at the successful Ethereum launch in 2014 which raised $18 million through an ICO. The infamous launch of The DAO in 2016. For a few months after the DAOsaster there was a significant drop-off in ICOs, but by the end of 2016, cumulative ICO funding was $236 million for the year, which was nearly 50 percent of the $496 million raised through traditional venture capital for blockchain projects in 2016.

Industries Being Brought To Blockchain

Business-to-Business Payments and Blockchain Technology

Sending money internationally goes beyond citizens, as businesses also transmit large volumes to global business partners. While this industry is too large to dive into every detail the same story laid out in remittances applies: fees are generally higher than they should be, and payments are slower than they should be. Visa, for example, has sensed the opportunity and is working with a startup called ‘Chain’ to build a business-to-business payment solution using blockchain technology.

Most insurance companies have opted to investigate DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) implementations and have not ventured far into the world of crypto assets. Large consulting firms are competing to be viewed as tough leaders with the knowledge of distributed ledger technology (blockchain), as these firms hope to win valuable contracts with deep-pocketed insurance companies that need help navigating the potential disruption.

The real estate industry is certainly vulnerable, but with blockchain based smart contracts and smart property, paper-based record-keeping will be eliminated and replaced.

Even in the health sector, Blockchain has proved to be revolutionary with its electronic Health records (EHRs) to store patients’ data effectively and securely. Moreover, other industries such as music & entertainment, agriculture, finance, and education have extremely benefited from blockchain technology and also turned the blockchain into a new multi-trillion dollar industry.