There are several advantageous ways that companies can earn money using blockchain technology, and that is why its usage in business processes increases. The future might lead blockchain to become a standard in business processes automation. In the words of Bill Gates: “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next 10. Don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction.” So far as concerns blockchain, Chinese business takes these words very seriously.
Although authorities have their value, decentralization always brings some benefits. How could our economy be ‘uberized’ without decentralization? There is no way this could have ever happened without giving more power to the individual. Decentralization, performed in the right way, could take the sharing economy to the next level, mainly by lowering the importance of human factor, ‘trusted’ third parties, and providing accessible tools to engage future development. We are talking about blockchain, a synonym for revolution in trust and security.
Who would expect in 2008, that blockchain would be used in such common, ‘daily’ fields as it is now? And we do not have to look very far; already in China there are several cases where companies use blockchain in their everyday life to make their work easier. These Chinese companies understand that blockchain brings more transparency and money. Here are some examples of how blockchain is currently being used in common business life.
China is building the world’s first ‘Blockchain Farm’ to eliminate the rising problem of poor quality products and food safety for customers. The Chinese company Zhongnan Construction is creating an agricultural product trading platform with a supply traceability system utilizing blockchain technology for product tracking. Customers will have the ability to track and verify food sources to ensure their quality and safety, protecting them from potentially harmful agricultural products.
Recruiting and headhunting agencies in China are targeting candidates with expertise in blockchain technology. The growing demand for employees with blockchain experienceб in addition to their higher than average salary, is creating a lucrative priority for recruiters and headhunters to place these skilled professionals into high-quality positions.
JD Finance is targeting blockchain technology to enhance data security.
“The blockchain is a brand new decentralization protocol that can safely store transaction data, prevent the information from being fabricated and falsifying, and automatically execute the smart contract without any audit from the centralized institution,” said Hao Yanshan, director of the department of structure finance at JD Finance.
In China, some regional government agencies are supporting blockchain research and development projects. “The government of the Chinese province of Jiangsu is backing a new research effort aimed at offering unbiased information to businesses coming up to speed on blockchain,” CoinDesk reports. The Jiangsu Huaxin Blockchain Research Institute (JBI) in China will receive government backing for research and development projects pertaining to academic research, political engagement, education services, and product development, all centered around blockchain technology. Government assistance and the increasing demand for this technology are big steps forward for blockchain’s promising future.
Blockchain, something which seemed so untouchable in the past, nowadays has found its place in companies which see its value and cost-saving advantages.
Businesses, government agencies, entrepreneurs, and startup companies are already using blockchain in their everyday life. The technology is becoming more and more popular for new businesses due to some unique features it offers. Already established businesses are also committing to the technology and restructuring their foundation around the blockchain.
Among the many benefits this technology provides, three of the most sought after features are transparency, cost-efficiency, and security. Below are recent examples of how some businesses in China are using these specific qualities of blockchain.
Blockchain stores all transactions and data in a secure, encrypted format which is viewable to everyone but also tamper-proof. In China, large banks are using this technology to legitimize the transaction history of monetary property, combat fraud, and provide enhanced security. The transparency of blockchain data eliminates the need for the current time-consuming and costly auditing process.
Charity organizations or projects can avoid the misuse and tampering of donations due to blockchain’s transparent transaction history and permanent financial record. For example, charity donations in China stopped growing in 2011 because of the misuse of money collected. A charity project of Alibaba named Ant Love decided to use blockchain technology, with the result that “all the information and transaction history of funds will be more reliable and can’t be easily tampered with”, according to a source.
When used for content distribution, authors (musicians, writers, photographers, etc.) upload their content into a blockchain-based platform where people are able to buy without a middleman, for a significantly lower fee than when using a middleman. The authors control their content without the use of a third party and therefore allow customers to purchase authentic content directly. According to digital yearbook from We Are Social, there are 688 million active internet users in China, creating a large potential for downloading content.
Many features of blockchain technology will help reduce costs for businesses. In January 2017, the Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) became the first Chinese bank to utilize blockchain technology in the core banking system. “PSBC’s blockchain solution enables real-time sharing of information among multiple parties and eliminates repeated credit verifications, thus reducing the process by about 60 to 80 percent,” ChinaDaily sad.
One of the most sought after features of blockchain is the unique way it stores and secures information while keeping it available for the public to view. Businesses are looking to use this technology to enhance the security of information and keep records transparent. This is extremely useful in the financial sector, where it is important to keep financial records secure and avoid any future complications by having these records public. The P2P lending giant Dianrong is making headlines as the new CFO prepares for a major blockchain overhaul of their entire platform. “We are integrating blockchain technology across our entire platform, where appropriate, to further enhance transparency and security for our borrowers and lenders,” Yawen Cui was quoted by CoinDesk as saying. In specific, Dianrong looks to use blockchain technology to “facilitate tamper-proof loan contracts, donations to charity and credit management.”
Some banks in China are beginning to use blockchain technology to fight against fraud. These banks are hiring blockchain experts to revamp the infrastructure to combat fraud in the financial sector. Fraud has been an issue in China for many years due to lack of security and the use of outdated technology. “Lenders have struggled for years with outdated and disparate technology. While four Chinese banks rank among the world’s five largest by capital, many still use paper, faxes, and traditional chop stamps to verify documents,” states Reuters. Blockchain’s unique way of securing data is viewed as highly advantageous, and the major banks are investing in heavily in researching this technology.
