Blockchain technology is simply intriguing – and still a bit of a mystery.  As a general purpose technology (GPT), its key advantages are trust, transparency, and verification – and the added benefit of a peer-to-peer distributed ledger that keeps a history of any transaction.

All this is terrific – but how can we use it?

If your instinctive reaction was Bitcoin, you’re not alone – cryptocurrency might be the most well-known application of blockchain. But there are many other uses that you might not expect. Keep in mind that this is only the tip of the iceberg. Let’s look at blockchain applications in categories – because, frankly, the variety of potential uses is overwhelming.

Supply Chain: Want to know where your salmon came from? or whether you’re at risk of exposure to counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs? Maybe you just want to see whether a part on your vehicle came from a certain factory. Blockchain can do this, with a verified transaction at each point in the supply chain.

Healthcare: Medical records, drug development, clinical trial management, billing and claims, regulatory compliance – the list is almost endless. The healthcare industry is an excellent place for blockchain technology because of the need for tracking, verification, and privacy.

Identity: think of identity theft. Hacking of personal information. It’s hard to argue that our digital identity is secure now. But what if we could have control over our identity – over the personal information that we choose to share? Blockchain has a great deal of potential to verify identity, from voting records, to transactions, to record keeping.

Smart Contracts / Investment of Digital Assets: this is one of the most interesting applications, because it removes the intermediary – the bank, the investment firm, the lawyer (maybe) – and leverages the peer-to-peer value of a blockchain. There are still risks, but transactions that are traceable and tied to digital assets give a level of protection to both parties that is missing with a large entity.

And speaking of protection?  KodakOne will be using blockchain technology to protect digital, copyrighted images using a KodakCoin token (see image at top).

This is a small sample of the ways that blockchain technology can be used. Some key questions to ask when considering blockchain technology are:

• What is the value in having your data as part of a blockchain?
• How do you plan to use the data?
• What types of data do you need to record, and who should have access?
• Is there a competitive, regulatory, or privacy advantage to having data in a blockchain?

Not every application is right for blockchain.  But there are a surprising number of disruptive use cases – and that’s why you need to learn more about it.  In Part 3, I’ll give you more information on how to get started with blockchain.

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Blockchain technology is relatively new, and fascinating.  And a complete mystery to most people. 

There are some excellent primers on blockchain technology, but it’s worth covering the basics in a short blog.

What is blockchain, exactly?  It is a shared, distributed ledger – a way to keep track of something that can be traded.  Sounds simple, right?  But there are some key advantages to blockchain technology:

1. Trust in the technology (and not in the individual). 
2. Transparency in the transaction
3. Verification at each point

Whenever something happens, blockchain creates a record of it – and it is added to the chain of prior events.  Every point in the network that looks at that record sees the history, without needing a third-party (such as a bank) to verify that it happened.  Blockchain is a peer-to-peer verified network of transactions. 

Why is it useful?  Because blockchain is a general purpose technology.  It can be used to track anything from cryptocurrency (Bitcoin and others) to food safety to data storage.  And at each stage, because it continues to be verified, all parties involved agree on how the transaction is taking place.   

How is it different from current transactions?  Most contracts or transactions rely on an independent party to make sure that the terms of the transaction are fair.  For financial transactions, this may be a bank or a lender.  For contracts, it may be a legal firm.  Because blockchain is a peer-to-peer technology, a third party is not needed – the events taking place are checked and recorded at every stage of the process, and the history is embedded in the chain of events. 

Who can use blockchain technology?  Frankly, almost anyone.  There are low barriers to entry in using blockchain technology.  But blockchain works best when you need an ongoing history of a transaction.  In my next blog, I’ll cover some of the interesting uses for blockchain technology – and why these matter. 

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My project involved the Super Bowl Experience, driven by Genesis, at the Minneapolis Convention Center. On the fourth day, one of the regular staffers came over with an odd request. “Could you steam these? I’m sorry to ask, but we really need the help.”

My blank look must have been expressive, because she laughed, pointed to the stack of NFLteam flags, and the clothes steamer nearby. “They came in wrinkled. Would you be willing to steam them?” With an apologetic look, she said, “we can’t put them up like this.”

Why not? I unfolded the flags, set up on a coat rack, and started with the Seattle Seahawks. I moved through the National Football Conference teams (paying special attention to the Minnesota Vikings flag), and my partner helped with the American Football Conference.

As I worked, I thought about the thousands of tiny details that are involved in planning for an event like the Super Bowl. Some of them seem unimportant – does it really matter if there’s a wrinkle in the middle of the New England Patriots flag? But those small details contribute to the experience. And to a Patriots fan, even if he or she doesn’t consciously notice, it makes a difference.

The details matter.

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