Tehnologia Blockchain este sigură chiar dacă Crypto ajunge în Oblivion

The world is discovering new blockchain use cases almost regularly. Cryptocurrencies were just the beginning, now the technology has emerged from the shadows to enter the mainstream market. Recently, a computer scientist and a professor at Birmingham University, Yu Chen, shed light on how this tech can be used besides virtual currencies.

Blockchain is a Promising Solution to Several Challenges

In an article published by The Conversation, a non-profit publishing network, Chen explained several implications of the technology in different industries. Currently, the technology is primarily used by cryptocurrencies. Last year, the blockchain sector was valued near $7 Billion.

Chen says, “As a computer scientist exploring new technologies for future smart communication network technologies, I, along with many engineers and developers, have shown that blockchain technology is a promising solution to many challenging problems in trust and security of next-generation network-based applications.” He added, “I see several ways blockchains are proving themselves useful that aren’t tied to cryptocurrency.”

Companies have a hard time tracking and maintaining supply chain data. Traditional tracking methods are not able to keep up. International Business Machine (IBM), a multinational technology corporation, is using blockchain for IBM Food Trust to trace the products from its origin to delivery.

Effective and accessible healthcare is one of the foundations of a healthy society. Chen suggests blockchain can offer a more efficient solution for data privacy in healthcare. Recently, the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), world’s largest medical library, proposed a blockchain solution to maintain electronic health records (EHRs).

Yu highlights the banking sector can utilize blockchain for data storage. The market witnessed significant decline after the failure of prominent institutions including Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and more. Central banks across the globe are experimenting with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) which are built on blockchains.

The article mentions other nuances including smart cities, real estate, voting and more to enhance productivity using blockchain. Increased transparency and tamper-proof structure makes it an attractive choice for industries considering that the data as a whole is getting bigger and complex. Chen also believes the future of information technology (IT) is decentralization, and for that blockchain is the key.

Crypto Might Not Be the Only Issue For Environmental Damage

There are concerns about the environmental impact of blockchain on the environment, mainly due to digital assets like cryptocurrencies because fossil fuels are the major source of energy for crypto minining companies. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), a Bitcoin transaction is 20,000 times energy hungry than Visa, consuming 635 kWh. Such magnitude of power consumption can run 21 households for a day.

Ethereum, second biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, shifted their operations from energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism to proof-of-stake (PoS) during The Merge. The transition reduced over 99% greenhouse emissions from its blockchain. According to a Columbia University research, virtual currencies are responsible for 0.3% of carbon footprints globally.

Although other blockchain utilities may appear eco-friendly, the technology handling large data stacks needs heavy equipment. Even if traditional fuel is replaced by renewable energy, life-size data centers would still produce enough heat to turn the planet into a red giant.

Anurag lucrează ca scriitor fundamental pentru The Coin Republic din 2021. Îi place să-și exercite mușchii curioși și să cerceteze în profunzime un subiect. Deși acoperă diverse aspecte ale industriei cripto, este destul de pasionat de Web3, NFT, Gaming și Metaverse și le vede ca pe viitorul economiei (digitale). Cititor și scriitor la inimă, el se autointitulează un „chitarist mediu” și un fotbalist distractiv.