Industrial Revolution 4.0: how blockchain is shaping the future

In the 1700s, England's population was growing faster than tailors could handle. Innovators of the time saw a market opportunity and created machines that could make shirts, socks, pants, and bedding faster.

The Industrial Revolution officially kicked off in 1760 in England. Soon, it spread to the rest of Europe, North America, and other parts of the world. Fast forward to the 21st century and almost everything sold to consumers today is made by machines.

Meeting demand is no longer a problem for many businesses. Instead, most companies are concerned by the high costs of production. As a solution, some businesses are using modern technologies like blockchain to optimise production, supply chain, and management.

What is blockchain technology?

A blockchain is a distributed database that stores data permanently. It’s transparent, immutable and secure. In fact, it’s almost impossible to hack a blockchain. Even if you did, it would take more resources than you would benefit from it.

Blockchain technology has many uses. It powers cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. It’s a database and a platform for creating all manner of applications.

In this article, we'll dig deeper into the benefits of blockchain to the world. We’ll explain how this technology could disrupt the world of businesses. Let’s dive right in.

Decentralisation of everything

Blockchain’s biggest feature is that it's decentralised. No single entity controls it. This means no one has too much power when it comes to control, decision-making, and other aspects.

Decentralization means top level security. The blockchain is secure from hackers, monopolization, and government control. It also means the network operates in a peer-to-peer system.

Peer-to-peer interactions eliminate intermediaries like banks and brokers. With no intermediaries, transactions become faster and cheaper. Indeed, you can send up to $1 billion worth of Bitcoin for less than $10. This is nearly impossible when using other means of payment.

Now, decentralised systems require verification to avoid misuse. With crypto, every payment is verified independently by a computer node linked to the blockchain.

Streamlining global transactions

Blockchain technology gives people the power to use their money autonomously. You don’t need a bank to authorise your transaction. No limitation on whom you can transact with nor how much you can spend.

Countries around the world might attempt to ban cryptocurrencies. But since they can’t control blockchain technology, their efforts are futile. You can transact with crypto in virtually any part of the world.

Borderless means businesses have no limits on how much they can expand. You can sell your products on all major continents. Customers won't have problems buying your stuff now that they can all access Bitcoin.

Crucially, crypto is fast and charges low costs. Bitcoin, which is considered slow by some, processes payments within 10 minutes. Alternative coins like Ripple, Solana, and USDT process transactions within a minute.

Smart contracts

Contrary to popular belief, blockchains are not created equally. The Bitcoin blockchain for example has scalability issues. Ethereum’s blockchain has smart contract capabilities while the Bitcoin SV blockchain focuses on selling and exchanging data assets efficiently. 

Smart contracts are self-executing agreements designed to disrupt the future of businesses. Ethereum created smart contracts to eliminate the old-age problem of working with people you trust.

Now, the Internet doesn’t make it easy to identify trustworthy operators. Thanks to smart contracts, you don’t really need to worry if a business is trustworthy. Instead, you just need to enter into a contract with them.

 Smart contracts can be used for all types of transactions. However, they’re perfect where digital products are involved. This way, a customer can lock crypto into a smart contract while the business can lock its digital products. Once the customer pays, the contract releases the product to the customer.

Supply chain management

The future of supply chain management looks bright all thanks to blockchain technology. Not only does it allow businesses to track products along the supply chain, but it also enables them to control everything else.

For example, you can validate provenance. Let's say you sell high value Swiss watches. You buy your watches in Europe, ship them to New York, and then transport them to different cities by road.

First, you want to ensure the watches are original and issue free from the country of origin. Once they're in the US, you want to confirm everything is OK. You can use timestamps to verify that your products remain intact while moving across different areas.

If you notice a problem in one of your items, you can trace its origin through the blockchain. Next, you can find out exactly what went wrong and fix the issue easily.

The blockchain offers these benefits while keeping your costs low. It also improves speed and efficiency. Checking which supplier supplied an expired good takes only a minute even if you run a corporation the size of Walmart.

Better record keeping

Although the blockchain is known for transparency, it can also be private. Not every blockchain parades data to anyone who wants to see it. Every business can hire developers to create a private blockchain.

Private Blockchains can help organisations store sensitive data securely. Healthcare businesses come to mind. A hospital can digitise patients’ records for efficient bookkeeping.

However, this data doesn’t need to be availed to everyone. By using passwords and other account protection tools, healthcare organisations can control who has access to records.

Because data stored on blockchain technology can't be altered, patients' records can remain safe for years without being tampered with. This efficient way of keeping records can lower costs, improve speed, and streamline hospital operations.

Of course, most businesses can use the blockchain to benefit from its secure nature. This includes police departments, e-commerce stores, manufacturers, and service providers.

Conclusion

Blockchain is changing how the world does business. In the past, it was crucial to establish trust before doing business. Now, blockchains are enabling trust-free transactions through smart contracts.

Additionally, the technology is revolutionising payments, record keeping, supply chain management, and app development. All that is left is for the world to embrace blockchain to make it a mainstream phenomenon.