How Blockchain can make its way in various businesses?

 

Blockchain technology that originated from a mathematics branch called cryptography can seem difficult, and it can certainly be for any ordinary individual, but its central idea is pretty basic indeed. The technology first gained recognition as a cryptocurrency network such as Bitcoin. Traditional tracking systems are unable to scale with increasing demand for fast distribution services, so the blockchain future is close and is now expanding through a wave of industries.

To make faster paced decisions, companies need modified, secure and authentic data nowadays. In any sized company, it plays a larger role as it offers a scalable, immediate solution for every order authentication. Blockchain technology is basically a virtual ledger capable of tracking and verifying a high volume of digital transactions, allowing business processes to be more productive and cost-effective. New platforms created by Blockchain allow simple document coordination on a shared distributed ledger, making physical paperwork largely unnecessary.

Approvals and customs clearance can become faster with the use of smart contracts, reducing processing times for goods at customs checkpoints, which means entrepreneurs can run their companies more transparently. As the whole network leads to data authentication, Blockchain ensures trustworthy data across the transport and logistics ecosystem. For improved supply chain management, more open contracts, quicker payments and faster background checks, Blockchain can be a game-changer. Using the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI (Artificial Intelligence), Blockchain allows better freight tracking to improve performance, which can be especially useful for capacity monitoring. It also conducts efficient fleet or vehicle performance history monitoring for simpler & accurate on boarding of the carrier.

Intelligent contracts with efficient cost control and removal of intermediaries improve liquidity in the supply chain. Blockchain can evolve over time and, because of their distributed existence, are theoretically self-sustaining. Organizations across the business spectrum are coming to the realization that they can use blockchain technology to streamline their activities and provide their customers with better services. Together with intelligent contracts and digital currencies, the blockchain can make trade and government processes safer, quicker, more efficient and more scalable. And as more and more small players, backed by digital technology, enter the market, the economy will continue its journey towards decentralization.

How Digital currency is going to lead us for a better future?

 

The rapid propagation of technology and connectivity to decentralized digital currencies issued and maintained using Blockchain and distributed digital ledgers has firmly pushed digital assets in front into many people’s consciousness than ever before. It has reversed the transformation of value by individuals and organizations and the removal of expensive intermediate payments, greater market stability, and the reduction of the counterpart risk due to new payment models. 

Decentralized digital assets are meant to speak as an alternative to traditional fiat money that removes control from the authorities of national banks and government organizations and returns it to the hands of conventional individuals. Distributed ledger technologies such as blockchain prevent data alteration and empower payments to be easily validated. Transactions are settled in near real-time and the users can view the entire transaction trail to keep their records straight.

Digital money is not tangible like fiat currencies, instead, it is accounted for and transferred using computers. The most popular and widely-used form of digital money is the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies represent an effective alternative to traditional systems of fiat money.

By eliminating the impact of governments and national banks, the digital currency can principally, take control of money away from institutions and hand it back to the people. The coronavirus epidemic has accelerated cryptocurrency’s existence usher in a new future of financial inclusion. Cryptocurrencies, tokens, and digital assets all appear as payment instruments with which one can make payments quickly, inexpensively, and without unnecessary intermediaries.

In the coming years, it seems inevitable that digital currencies will become widely accessible to customary residents. Although cryptocurrency does not complement the existing financial infrastructure, instead creates a new one - without intermediaries, and which is transparent and reliable, unlike other payment instruments.  Blockchain could likewise limit the requirement for market arbitrageurs, value revealing offices, benchmark providers, and others whose businesses create financial incentives by capitalizing on information asymmetry.

Cryptocurrency technologies allow people to track where each budgeted penny of their fiat currency has been spent.

Physical financial tenders have expensive nature to be moved, stored, and dispensed, hence, banks and other financial institutions are drawn to the efficiency of digital currencies. Businesses and governments are attracted to the potential of digital currencies as these increases economic inclusion manifold and reduce the scope for financial crimes. Blockchain could also allow client onboarding and know-your-customer documentation to be completed on a peer-to-peer basis much faster and easier, without the need for formal interference. Countries could make use of digital currencies based on distributed ledger technologies to improve tax collection and traceability. These are among the reasons why arising crypto market nations have been probably the most dynamic advocates of national bank computerized monetary forms.

 

However, when it comes to using cryptocurrencies in the daily lives, most average citizens still face major challenges, and that needs to be resolved if digital currency is to gain mass acceptance and eventually substitute fiat as the dominant monetary framework. Until then, fintech firms will continue to find ways to help companies and customers invest in digital currencies in their daily lives. After all, replacing a money system that has dominated for almost 50 years is not a mere feat and needs a comprehensive redesign of the financial infrastructure of the world.

Brands that accept digital currency/payments in crypto:

As time passes, the general public is becoming more aware and well known about the digital currency or cryptocurrency. Blockchain technology is adopted by growing numbers of businesses and huge brands as a means of payment for products and services every day following the demands of their consumers, bringing cryptocurrency mass adoption closer to existence. It is now just a matter of time before all traders worldwide can accept cryptocurrencies.

Here are some of the companies that accepted cryptocurrency as their payment solutions and marking a significant change in the financial ecosystem:

Microsoft

Back in December 2014, one of the world’s most famous IT companies opened the doors to this bold innovation. It is real, however, that due to high transaction fees, the company made a short pause in January 2018, but in the recent scenario, crypto payments can be made for some of its items only as in the Xbox store

AT&T

A press release declaring the news was released in May 2019 by this world’s largest telephone communications company. The combination has made the new installment accessible to every one of its clients with the assistance of the administration BitPay and now authoritatively acknowledges bitcoins.

Boatsters Black

This worldwide yacht contract organization began offering a crypto installment alternative to its extravagant clients in June 2018 which turned out to be a successful initiative for the company. After the new installment choice was executed, the number of sanction demands expanded as the newly emerged crypto-millionaires were finally offered an alternative to utilize their advanced digital reserve funds in real life.

Overstock

One of the greatest US retailers, Overstock has consistently been a sharp spectator of digital innovations. It was one of the first global brands to begin accepting crypto payments back in 2014 as an official means of payment and, interestingly, it still offers its customers different types of cryptocurrencies as an option.

Subway
This is another major company that understands the future scope of digital currency and is now accepting cryptocurrency. They also allowed the trading of crypto assets such as Bitcoin for food products.

Takeaway.com
In summer 2017, this European fast-food delivery firm, which operates across 11 nations, including Germany and the Netherlands, entered the crypto frenzy. As their customers can order their favorite meals through a single gateway and pay with cryptocurrency, the company’s website acts as a one-stop-shop for numerous restaurants.

PayPal
PayPal has joined the encrypted money business, announcing that its customers would have the choice of using their PayPal accounts to buy and sell Bitcoin and other virtual monetary assets which then can easily be used to buy items from the 26 million PayPal-recognized merchants.

Shopify
Shopify is one of the well-known businesses with a major change to accept cryptocurrencies as early as 2013, providing consumers with ease of payment to set up their own online shop.

Cryptocurrencies are now globally recognized there is no doubt that it serves some meaningful purposes and is a useful form of payment. Crypto Assets will serve the need for a direct payment commodity that is not intermediated and is proving to withstand mass interest around the world. The larger companies see the potential for cryptocurrencies to prove to be a more convenient means of payment and the big companies will begin adding them to their balance sheets in the near future.

Blockchain Scope in the Insurance Sector

Blockchain is a disruptive technology which on par with the groundbreaking influence of the Internet, is expected to have a far-reaching effect on the insurance industry in the times to come.

Blockchain does not only have strong potential in the insurance sector but other several industries too because it is involved with emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

One may wonder, what is the future of digitization or need for technological advancement in the insurance industry and how will it benefit the policyholders? New digital technologies can change the way customers interact with insurers. Technological developments are now important components of the insurance industry that are also equally valuable to insurance companies and their clients. Although technology is used by insurers to achieve a competitive advantage, the clients use these resources online to strengthen the basic nature of workers’ compensation coverage, auto insurance coverage, general liability insurance coverage, and other business-related insurance coverage.

The promise of cost savings and productivity is not the only benefit of blockchain, but it could also enable revenue growth as insurers will be able to attract new business through higher-quality services.

Blockchain technology will help serve the role of the wholesale insurance sector by supporting the global economy more effectively. The insurance sectors are welcoming and adopting blockchain with an open mind as they realize that the potential of Blockchain can provide full accountability, transparency, and superior protection which will save insurers time and money, as well as boost their customer’s loyalty. Blockchain technology can easily help insurance companies solve the challenges of today and adapt to the current competitive market. The technology can help streamline the insurance processes and meet the demands of digitally-savvy consumers by creating and conducting transparent operations based on confidence and stability.

Insurance companies face major challenges in terms of complicated enforcement problems, restricted growth in mature markets, fraudulent claims operation, third-party payment transactions, and the processing of vast volumes of data, which Blockchain technology can take control of and address and solve these in a snap.

In these fast times, the market now demands speedy solutions to insurance-related topics like fast claim settlements, etc. and quick remedies for concerns of customers about processes to be automated and confidential information to be secured.

Although blockchain may not be able to address the entire insurance issues, it surely can provide simple technological solutions that will encourage confidence, accountability, and stability and create further convenience for its users. Blockchain will not be only able to improvise the way insurers record data of risks, but also increase the speed of every step of the insurance sector from buying the policy to its settlement.

The inherent advantages of the financial settlement come embedded in the technical characteristics of blockchain. The entire process of insurance activities like underwriting, premium collection, indemnity payment, and even reinsurance can be efficiently and securely executed with Blockchain when combined with smart contracts. To improve the insurance market, Smart contracts provide transparency, autonomy, accuracy, and other important advantages and help you manage the financial risks if something goes wrong or behaves in an unpredictable way. Owing to smart contracts and due to special tools, all the data from Iot devices can be recorded on the blockchain and automatically analyzed by the insurer and can transfer the money to concerning accounts to cover the damage of the clients.

Some of the main potential uses and applications are mentioned as under:
Claims settlement: On conditions in the policy being met, Smart contracts can enable the insured to automatically receive indemnity without any human interference and adjust the settlement without any hassles. This automation process will enhance operational efficiency at reduced costs, thereby, building higher trust in the insurance company.

Internal management systems: Smart contracts and blockchain technology can put internal management systems to automation mode which will not only improve management efficiency but also reduce labor costs which will improve the efficiency of a compliance audit.

Management of Fraud Claims: To validate the claims and the amount of adjustment, a blockchain-based platform can play a major role as insurance companies’ operating costs will reduce immensely & effectively help to reduce fraud. Critical and confidential information about the insured depending on each case like Driver’s information, vehicle registration details, and claims information, etc. can easily be stored and shared through the platform.

Premium/Claims Management: Blockchain-based technology will efficiently reduce data errors and avoid monetary losses which in turn will help insurance companies or related third parties like brokers etc. to manage the risks and improve the efficiency of claim settlement and daily tasks management.

There is no doubt that with blockchain, the efficiency of data exchange and storage can be remarkably improved. The high-tech platform is equipped to reduce human intervention in terms of many manual tasks involved in the insurance company causing a significant reduction in their operating costs. In short, operating efficiency can be increased manifold and boost utter customer satisfaction with blockchain technology embedded in the insurance sector.

How Investment Trends have changed over the last few decades?

 The year 2020 has marked the start of a new decade for financial and investment sector in a big way. It has shaped up to be an interesting year for markets, with several new investment themes and trends emerging. Though 2019 has seen a major transformation for blockchain and cryptocurrencies, 2020 can be really a game changer for the coming years ahead. It continues to open a wide market of investors to the digital economy and making it big in global revolution for this paradigm shift. Financial markets and investment have undergone profound changes over the past 40 years, and investors who moved with the times and embraced those developments have been able to make their space into the beneficial zone of this market.

Many traders willingly opt to trade in the same direction as the trend, attempting to earn profit from a continuation of the same predicted trend.

Price action, trend lines, and technical indicators are some of the crucial tools that can help identify the trend and warn when it is not reaching the desired profit levels. However, the market as a whole has become more efficient over the period because of the expansion of professional asset management.

The capacity of making returns from investing in virtual currencies is usually compared to traditional investments, and although are slightly lower depending on the benchmark, goal-oriented investors are aware of the importance of the change in the overview of the importance of digital assets for the greater benefit for society.

The blockchain is continuing to gain in popularity despite the ups and downs of the Cryptocurrency.

Artificial Intelligence is most likely be the biggest trend in the tech world since the internet. The key in present is to take action! Investor have gained much more awareness about what is happening in the finance market and hence tend to create a crypto Investing team or seek advices to make all the difference at scale.

Cryptocurrency investing has gained traction among a wide range of investors, including all spheres of financial world. Crypto Investing is here to stay and to grow exponentially over the next decade and beyond. It is simple, our economic future depends on it and people are understanding this at last.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of blockchain? How will it shape our future?

A blockchain originally is a growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. Blockchain was introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto in the year 2008 and was implemented in the year 2009 to serve as a cryptocurrency named Bitcoin.

Blockchain is performed from peer to peer globally where there is no third party required to validate the transaction process. The two parties involved do not need a third party as they have trust. The blocks are created one after the other in the chain, hence it is a completely transparent and secure process and the transactions cannot be erased form the blockchain or be re-written once it is done.

Blockchains are important because they allow for new efficiency and reliability in the exchange of valuable and private information that once required a third party to facilitate, such as the movement of money and the authenticity of identity.

Advantages of Blockchain technology

Immutability and Transparency — Each block is visible to every member of the network, ensuring trust between parties. As one block is linked to another block in a transaction process across the distributed ledger, it is not possible to delete or overwrite the process.

Consensus — the parties in the blockchain agree to the process and then approve on the transactions, therefore it makes the transactions legitimate and then added to the blockchain.

Process integrity — The process is built in a way that it operates between two parties where there is no need for the third party to validate the transactions. Hence, once transactions are done the block created after another in a chain cannot be undone to maintain high levels of security.

Security — Blockchain is highly secure as every individual who enters a blockchain is provided with a unique identifier linked to its account and it is highly encrypted. This ensures that the owner of the account himself is doing the transactions.

Faster processing — Blockchain is cloud-based and supports digital currency like cryptocurrency. Currency can be transferred from one side to another within a few seconds, unlike the way it takes to transfer the fiat currency.

Lower transaction costs — Apart from faster transactions, it also offers a lower transactional cost. As there are no middle parties involved, there are no hidden costs for making a transaction except a small fee is paid at the exchanges.

Disadvantages of Blockchain technology

Large energy consumption — With the new technology and faster transactions, blockchain requires high consumption of power as it performs the mining process. Keeping a real-time ledger is one of the reasons for this huge energy consumption.

Maintenance cost — Maintaining the hardware to run such a high level of transactions and perform such complex processes requires huge costs for its operations.

Volatility — Many cryptocurrencies work on decentralized blockchains which makes it volatile to the market. The prices for these cryptocurrencies may fluctuate anywhere between 5 to 25% in a single day also.

Transaction Delays — One of the drawbacks of the major blockchains that have been created so far is that they usually take a fairly long time — typically a few hours to register the transactions also sometimes.

Doesn’t Guarantee full transparency — Moving data to a blockchain can be one way to help make your software project or company more transparent. But it doesn’t suddenly make everything about “open.” You could have a closed-source application that stores data on a blockchain, for example. In that case, no one except you would know exactly how your software operates, even though its data lives on a blockchain.

Apart from discussing its advantages and disadvantages, blockchain can widely affect in various ways to shape our lives for a better future. We can understand this based on certain use cases such as:

Decision making
Blockchain can help our businesses and government in shaping many policies and their implementation due to its transparency and immutability. It can further increase the trust between parties, reducing corruption, and supporting the bureaucracy.

Healthcare
It can help the medical service providers to benefit from its smart contract feature and streamline one of the most difficult works of aligning and preparing huge contracts for various parties without any mistakes and in a secure way. Along with that, it can help procure the medical records data in a certain timeframe and timestamp making its further use for any further medical research, potentially curing diseases or providing insights for planning effective treatment.

Identity
Impersonation and identity theft have been a common mishap but with blockchain, one can store and secure their data and biometrics on blockchain and it can never be defrauded.

Similarly, blockchain has many other uses and positive effects in shaping our life for a better future.

Is it necessary to have a computer background to learn blockchain?

 

Blockchain technology is being called the future of technology and there are many job opportunities coming up in this field of technology. Blockchain developers are really getting in demand nowadays, and to become one, you need to have a set of technical skills as a prerequisite.

One should have knowledge and understanding of IT as well as logical reasoning to be able to understand this complex technology. And you require certain skill sets to be able to understand and get you expertise.

Following are the essentials you need to understand:
1. Distributed systems and Networking.
Blockchain is a distributed ledger that works across the network, and an individual should know how the network and distributed system works. A good understanding of how peer to peer networks work is a must.

2. Cryptography
Hash functions and digital signatures are created by using the public-key cryptography in the Bitcoin blockchain. A good background in mathematics skills can also help in the field of Blockchain for a developer. Block Ciphers, Message Integrity, and Authenticated Encryption are few concepts that one should have a clear understanding. Payments are secured on e-commerce sites by Hash Function. A developer in Blockchain should have security skills like elliptic curve digital signatures, Merkle proofs, cryptographic hashing, private key, and public-key cryptography and many more. Frameworks in security are getting evolved for regulatory needs, legal needs, and compliance needs.

3. Data Structures
A blockchain developer should know how Data Structures work such as linked lists, graphs, hash maps, search trees and many more. Knowledge of programming languages like C++, C-Sharp, C, Scala, Java, Python is also required.

There are various online portals offering good courses in blockchain. One can start with the beginner’s program and gradually improve the skill set and knowledge upgrading to other programs. These courses and programs are not only written for the newbie or basic knowledge but also teach basic, intermediate and advanced level of skills.
There are many tutorials and blockchain experts who have their blogs as well as tutorials to help you understand how to begin your career in blockchain. You can also get enrolled for blockchain related courses online and get your learning started.

However, blockchain offers a variety of portfolios to choose from. You can choose between these following:
Blockchain Business Executive
Blockchain Consultant
Blockchain Developer
Blockchain Administrator
Blockchain Architect

Countries Adopting Cryptos : JD Coin

                  
Cryptocurrencies have gained momentum over the past few years and witnessing growth in its number & prices and most importantly, global adaptation. Cryptocurrency is just not the means of wealth preservation, but it is also used as an investment tool as well as an easier way of sending payments digitally. More & more countries are becoming more open to the idea of digital currency and its benefits, creating better regulations for crypto-assets and their functioning as both an asset and utility. The benefits of the crypto world are truly seen by the masses now and are willing to take the risk of adoption, thus, creating an environment of growth for virtual asset trading seeing its multiple real-life uses that can help the everyday lives of people around the world.
Major countries advocate blockchain/Cryptocurrency adoption due to several reasons like high inflation rates, an infamous corruption, and failing banking systems. These are driving citizens towards the cryptocurrency world gradually.
One of the major reasons is the help that it provides to cut down on tax evasion and frauds, which are very prevalent in the economic markets today. The use of Cryptocurrencies makes it easier for individuals to keep a safety on their identity, while they can still conduct all transactions. Another reason why major countries have started to adopt the use of Cryptocurrencies is that they are seen as more secure than fiat money. Since there is no physical asset, like gold or silver, that is protected, it is not as susceptible to corruption and frauds like traditional currencies. Also, unlike gold and silver, there are no worries about inflation as well. There is also no need for a central bank or any form of central authority to monitor the value of the digital coins. All of these things make the use of Cryptocurrencies more appealing to most countries.
Countries adopting digital currency have high hopes that the crypto assets will be very useful to them and that they will want to continue the use of it for the benefit of its masses. By being able to look at the transaction records transparently, the countries are able to gauge their success rates in the markets and plan further economic strategies. Let’s learn about the top 5 countries that lead the way in Cryptocurrency adoption:
Brazil:
It is the fifth-largest country in the world and one of the richest in Latin America and citizens in Brazil have a high interest in crypto, due to which it is becoming a huge hub for crypto gradually. Brazil accounts for some top highest of the world’s Cryptocurrency adoption.
Malta:
Without mentioning Malta, discussion on crypto-friendly countries is incomplete. The three Cryptocurrency and blockchain bills passed by the Maltese parliament enhances investors’ vision by providing a clear description of the required legal framework to set up a legitimate Cryptocurrency business. The country also regularly conducts Malta Blockchain Summit which attracts many crypto businesses to set up their offices in the country.
Argentina:
Cryptocurrency is very popular across this country, even some public means of transportation allows payment in Cryptocurrency. Argentina permits mining Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Although Bitcoin in Argentina is not considered a legal currency, as it is not issued by the Central Bank, there are no restrictions toward it and is considered to be good under the Argentine Civil Code, and its transactions are governed by the rules of the Civil Code.
Switzerland:
It is one of the first countries to have shown a positive attitude toward Bitcoin and with decent regulations, support for investments, ICOs, and developments. Recently, two Zurich-based banks- Maerki Baumann Bank & Incore Bank were approved to offer a range of Cryptocurrency services, including trading and custody by Switzerland’s financial regulator, FINMA. A government-owned commercial bank in Switzerland, Basler Kantonal Bank, or BKB, plans to launch Cryptocurrency services in response to an increased demand for crypto services in the country.
Colombia:
Crypto adoption in Colombia is outstanding. The country is home to over a million Venezuelan refugees and this Factor contributes to massive crypto adoption as a huge amount of citizens are still unbanked. The Columbian citizens use crypto assets to run businesses as well as means of investment. Cryptocurrencies open up foreign investment in Colombian companies and there is a huge demand for Bitcoin in Colombia.

• The pioneering actions of some countries will pave the way for the other countries to embrace Cryptocurrency that will lead to crypto mass adoption.