Money transfers in the old-school banking world typically take several days. The processing time and fees only grow if the transfer crosses international borders. By contrast, transferring money over a blockchain network can be done in minutes. Blockchain-based payment and money transfer platforms run circles around their traditional banking counterparts in terms of fees and processing speed. The sender and receiver may be subject to different local regulations, but the actual transaction largely ignores issues such as physical distance and national borders. This was one of the original reasons behind Bitcoin's invention, not to mention the international money transfer ambitions of the Ripple (XRP +1.70%) network. In the long run, it's fair to assume that most financial technology companies will rely on blockchain networks in some way.
It's also easy to envision personal data moving from plastic cards in your wallet to digital blockchain records. When your identity is tied to an ultra-secure blockchain record, it should be possible to implement all-digital medical records, real estate titles, online voting, and more. Many of these ideas still send shivers down the spines of many consumers and regulatory officers because they have not yet been put to the test. The automatic mistrust of unknown solutions still outweighs the potential benefits of managing private records in this way. That may very well change in the long run.
Blockchain networks can improve the supply chains in many industries. With the help of a custom blockchain and smart contracts, it's possible to track goods from the raw materials to the consumer, with unique records for every point in between. You could know at a glance where the gold and the diamonds in that ring came from, where and when they were put into a piece of jewelry, and who else may have owned it before you. The same complete supply chain tracking could apply to furniture, pieces of clothing, food, and more. Shipping companies and manufacturers have been contemplating blockchain-based tracking for years.
The global reach and tight security of blockchain networks set the stage for direct data storage. Just as a data block can hold complete records of a complex transaction, it can also contain a small piece of the data in a large file. When that file needs to be available at the drop of a hat and around the world without sacrificing data security, it makes a lot of sense to distribute it across a blockchain rather than serving up the complete file from a central server. The leading content delivery networks (CDN) and cloud computing providers are already working with blockchain solutions. More will surely follow.
