Many financial and human resources are being used in an attempt to fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Technologies are also being utilized in this fight: artificial intelligence for research, 5G to improve information transmission speed, and many others.

Blockchain is not being left out of this debate, as it now performs an essential role in assisting institutions and governments across the globe respond to COVID-19, and is recently being combined into healthcare and food supply chains.

How blockchain platforms can help defeat a pandemic

Blockchain platforms can be utilized to monitor pandemic material distribution, relief distribution, donations, and other fast and transparent responses without the violation of user data. Digital identity is another way blockchain platforms can help beat COVID-19: Companies can associate via blockchain platforms to contribute to research the best way to fight the coronavirus.

Contact-tracing applications can be developed on blockchain to enable anonymity.

Blockchain can bring reliability, transparency, and security to medical data. Various organizations have been cited in manipulating data through this pandemic; blockchain can aid in solving them by giving transparent and immutable medical data. A blockchain-based global pandemic map can be utilized to trace the spread of the virus, the number of infected citizens, and the number of recovered citizens. The management of health insurance claims can be accomplished through blockchain and smart contracts.

The role of decentralized payment systems

On the other hand, a blockchain-based decentralized payment method can perform an important role in defeating the virus, as companies can receive payment by cryptocurrencies without the risk of spreading the virus via cash. Additionally, high-speed cryptocurrency payment systems support to promote cross-border transactions within a few seconds, enabling the transfer of funds utilizing distributed ledger technology with the usage of multiple synchronized ledgers and numerous processing nodes, which has the potential to decrease the risk from a single-point-of-failure.

Donation campaigns are being set up to raise money for medical research and equipment, offering relief materials during the pandemic. For instance, the Covir blockchain project currently associated with Octopus robots to finance Biosafety licenses for robots that decontaminate large buildings during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Covir’s primary goal is to help Octopus robots gain licenses so its robots can be accessible worldwide. Blockchain can be utilized to promote transparency through fundraising and donation campaigns while tracking the origin of funds and detecting if those funds are applied for the right purposes.

Tokenization can help countries build the economy after COVID-19.

Tokenization offers a unique opportunity to rebuild society after the COVID-19 pandemic. The damage created by the pandemic will no doubt be massive, with economic recession and a high rate of unemployment felt across the globe. Blockchain platforms have made Tokenization possible, allowing the division of assets in the scantiest possible way. Tokenization enables the person with the smallest amount to fund and contribute to building the economy.

Kelvin Cheng, the chief operating officer at BigONE exchange, believes that Tokenization can improve the economy by enabling companies to divide their assets and enable investors to participate in tokenized assets. He said in a statement, “Tokenization can digitize a company’s core resources, including the capability of making profits and core assets. Asset tokenization of holding the token is equivalent to holding shares, in which people holding the token can be considered as a ‘token holder’ who can enjoy the company’s benefits. The more token the person has, the more benefit the person can get. Profit digitized means that a company’s profit can issue a dividend or buy back according to the status of the holding of the token.”