BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

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 BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

Ms. Geeta Unhale, Assistant Professor,

ggunhale@coe.sveri.ac.in

SVERI’s College of Engineering, Pandharpur

Introduction:

 Block chain technology is the latest and very interesting technology that will be very useful in industry 4.0 and also in industry 5.0.Basically block chain technology can be used for security purpose in banking sectors, for document storage etc. Most of the countries are trying to use this technology in different sectors like Russian government is testing block chain for document storage, Microsoft partners’ bank of America trying to use block chain to transform trade finance. Australia and New Zealand banking group and US banks are building distributed ledger platform for correspondent banking using block chain. Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange announces block chain e-voting services. According to new estimates from financial services research firm Aite Group, banks will invest an estimated $400 million into the Block chain technology by 2019.ICICI bank executes India’s first banking transaction on block chain.

 


Basic Concept:

 

Block chain is a simple digital platform for recording and verifying transactions so that other people can’t erase them and anyone can see them.That’s why the world is going crazy over the block chain. Block chain is a type of distributed ledgermeans when you will do any transaction that will be visible for every node in that network, there is no any centralized system to monitor or control or change the data stored in that ledger(transaction record).Block chain comprises of unchangeable, digitally recorded data in packets called blocks.These digitally recorded “block” of data is stored in a chain.Each block in the chain contains transaction data and it is cryptographically hashed means when you do any transaction that data gets stored in the separate block and you get one key i.e. transaction ID or Hash key for that particular transaction. For every new transaction you will get new transaction ID and that new ID will depends on previous ID, so you need to remember transaction ID(hash key) of current transaction till your next transaction. No one will be able to do any transaction without previous transaction ID, so that this technique will provide 100% security for your every transactions.

Applications in different fields:

1. Asset Management-Trade Processing and Settlement: Traditional trade processes within asset management (where parties trade and manage assets) can be expensive and risky, particularly when it comes to cross-border transactions. Each party in the process, such as broker, custodian, or the settlement manager, keeps their own records which create significant inefficiencies and room for error. The block chain ledger reduces error by encrypting the records. At the same time, the ledger simplifies the process, while canceling the need for intermediaries.

2. Insurance-Claims processing: Claims processing can be a frustrating and thankless procedure. Insurance processors have to wade through fraudulent claims, fragmented data sources, or abandoned policies for users to state a few – and process these forms manually. Room for error is huge. The block chain provides a perfect system for risk-free management and transparency. Its encryption properties allow insurers to capture the ownership of assets to be insured.

3. Payments -Cross-Border Payments: The global payments sector is error-prone, costly, and open to money laundering. It takes days if not longer for money to cross the world. The blockchain is already providing solutions with remittance companies such as Abra, Align Commerce and Bitspark that offer end-to-end blockchain powered remittance services. In 2004, Santander became one of the first banks to merge blockchain to a payments app, enabling customers to make international payments 24 hours a day, while clearing the next day.

4. Unconventional money lenders/ hard money lending: Smart contracts can revolutionize the traditional lending system. For instance, unconventional money lenders (e.g. hard money lenders) service borrowers who have poor credit with needed loans – while charging two to ten percent of the loan amount and claiming their property as collateral. Too many borrowers fall into bankruptcy and lose homes.  The blockchain can undercut this by allowing a stranger to loan you money and taking your smart property as collateral. No need to show the lender credit or work history. No need to manually process the numerous documents. The property’s encoded on the blockchain for all to see.

5. Your car/ smartphone:Primitive forms of smart property exist. Your car-key, for instance, may be outfitted with an immobilizer, where the car can only be activated once you tap the right protocol on the key. Your smartphone too will only function once you type in the right PIN code. Both work on cryptography to protect your ownership. The problem with primitive forms of smart property is that the key is usually held in a physical container, such as the car key or SIM card, and can’t be easily transferred or copied. The blockchain ledger solves this problem by allowing blockchain miners to replace and replicate a lost protocol.

6.Blockchain Internet-of-Things (IoT): Any material object is a ‘thing.’ It becomes an internet of things (IoT) when it has an on/ off switch that connects it to the internet and to each other. By being connected to a computer network, the object, such as a car, become more than just an object.  It is now people-people, people-things, and things-things. The analyst firm Gartner says that by 2020 there will be over 26 billion connected devices. Others raise that number to over 100! How does the IoT affect you?  Your printer can automatically order cartridges from Amazon when it runs low. Your alarm clock will change your time for brewing coffee, while your oven will produce an immaculately timed turkey for Thanksgiving. These are just some examples. On a larger scale, cities and governments can use IoT to develop cleaner environments, more efficient energy use and so-called ‘smart cities,’ to improve how we live and work.

7.Smart Appliances: A smart appliance is a device that connects to the internet and gives you more information and control than before. For instance, a code connected to your appliance can be linked to the internet and alert you when your cookies are ready or if your laundry has stopped. These alerts keep your appliances in good condition, they save you money regarding energy efficiency and help you control your devices when away from home, among other benefits. Encrypting these appliances on the blockchain protects your ownership and enables transferability.

8. Supply Chain Sensors: Sensors give companies end-to-end visibility of their supply chain by providing data on the location and condition of the supplies as they are transported around the globe. As of 2016, a Deloitte and MHI report surveyed 99 leading supply chain companies and found that sensors were used by 44% of these respondents. Eighty-seven percent of these industries said they plan to use the technology by 2020. The technology is expected to grow to 1 trillion by 2022 and to 10 trillion sensors by 2030, according to this sme Deloitte and MHI report. The blockchain stores, manages, protects and transfers this smart information.

9. Blockchain Healthcare: Personal health records could be encoded and stored on the blockchain with a private key which would grant access only to specific individuals. The same strategy could be used to ensure that research is conducted via HIPAA laws (in a secure and confidential way). Receipts of surgeries could be stored on a blockchain and automatically sent to insurance providers as proof-of-delivery. The ledger, too, could be used for general health care management, such as supervising drugs, regulation compliance, testing results, and managing healthcare supplies.

10. Blockchain music: Key problems in the music industry include ownership rights, royalty distribution, and transparency. The digital music industry focuses on monetizing productions, while ownership rights are often overlooked. The blockchain and smart contracts technology can circuit this problem by creating a comprehensive and accurate decentralized database of music rights. At the same time, the ledger and provide transparent transmission of artist royalties and real time distributions to all involved with the labels. Players would be paid with digital currency according to the specified terms of the contract.

11. Blockchain Government: In the 2016 election, Democrats and Republicans questioned the security of the voting system. The Green Party called for a recount in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. Computer scientists say hackers can rig the electronic system to manipulate votes. The ledger would prevent this since votes become encrypted. Private individuals can confirm that their votes were counted and confirm who they voted for. The system saves money, by the way, for the government, too. The blockchain ledger, also, provides a platform for what we call “responsive, open data.” According to a 2013 report from McKinsey and Company, open data freely accessible government-sourced data that is available over the internet to all citizens can make the world richer by $2.6 trillion. Startups can use this data to uncover fraudulent schemes, farmers can use it to perform precision farm-cropping, and parents can investigate the side effects of medicine for their sick children. Right now, this data is released only once a year and is, largely, non-responsive to citizens input. The blockchain, as a public ledger, can open this data to citizens whenever and wherever they want.

12.Public value/ community: The blockchain can facilitate self-organization by providing a self-management platform for companies, NGOs, foundations, government agencies, academics, and individual citizens. Parties can interact and exchange information on a global and transparent scale – think of Google Cloud, but larger and less risky.

13.Vested responsibility:Smart contracts can ensure that electorates can be elected by the people for the people so that government is what it’s meant to be. The contracts specify the electorate’s expectations and electors will get paid only once they do what the electorate demanded rather than what funders desired.

14. Blockchain Identity: Whether we like it or not, online companies know all about us. Some companies whom we purchase from sell our identity details to advertisers who send you their ads. The blockchain blocks this by creating a protected data point where you encrypt only the information that you want relevant people to know at certain times.  For example, if you’re going to a bar, the bartender simply needs the information that tells him you’re over 21.

15. Passports: The first digital passport launched on Github in 2014 and could help owners identify them online and off. How does it work? You take a picture of yourself, stamp it with a public and private key, both of which are encoded to prove it is legitimate. The passport is stored on the ledger, given a Bitcoin address with a public IP, and confirmed by Blockchain users.

16.Birth, wedding, and death certificates: Few things are more important than documents showing you’re born, married, died which open your rights to all sorts of privileges (such as voting, working, citizenship), yet mismanagement is rife. Up to a third of children under the age of five have not been issued a birth certificate, the UNICEF reported in 2013.  The blockchain could make record-keeping more reliable by encrypting birth and death certification and empowering citizens to access this crucial information.

17.Personal Identification:We carry a range of identifications: Our driver’s license, computer password, identity cards, keys, social security ID, and so forth. Blockchain ID is a digital form of ID that’s engineered to replace all these forms of physical identification. In the future, fintech scientists say you’ll be able to use the one digital ID for signing up at any registrar. It is open source, secured by the blockchain, and protected by a ledger of transparent account.

Conclusion: Thus the Blockchain Technology plays an important role in different areas of application, so it is necessity of today’s world to learn the blockchain technology and to use it in various applications to make human life safe, secured and easy.

 

References:

1.https://youtu.be/yubzJw0uiE4

2. https://builtin.com/blockchain

3.https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/blockchain.asp

4. https://youtu.be/2yJqjTiwpxM

 

 

 

 

 

 

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