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Jeffrey S. Arellano

26 May 2022

The Utility of Blockchain Technology in our Society

Blockchain is a new technology. It can be described as “A technology that enables

immutability, and integrity of data in which a record of transactions made in a system are

maintained across several distributed nodes that are linked in a peer-to-peer network” (Rodriguez

Bolivar 360). The world has come to know about it with the population of cryptocurrencies,

NFTs, and web3. I am visiting many applications this peer-to-peer network can better our

society. Blockchain allows for high transparency in the data it manages. It is a decentralized

digital ledger; individuals use the words blockchain technology and distributed ledger

technology (DLT) synonymously, and nonetheless, incorrectly. Blockchain is only one type of

DLT, not all DLTs use blockchain. Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Future of the Internet

and “Retail Blues” permeate modern society’s culture bubble. They serve as current examples of

film, art, and comical satire on this subject. Furthermore, we may use this software in supply

chain/logistics centers, public administration, and commerce/financial markets.

Billion-dollar international companies in different industries including banking, FinTech,

communications, and aviation are now using blockchain for record-keeping today. For example,

Deutsche Telekom, Germany’s largest telecom provider uses the system for gathering customer

call logs to negotiate tariffs for all roaming calls (Cryptopia). “Blockchain technology is

considered the next generation of subversive core technologies after steam engines, electricity,

and the Internet.” (Huang et al. 60:6). Huang comparing this technology to the top 3 industry

game-changers of the last century is revolutionary! We must be on a path of a renaissance.

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Private companies who pick up how to best use this tech, and can demonstrate to others how to

use it, will benefit!

Global supply networks and the logistics operations with multiple agents within them are

to be the best use case of blockchains (Pournader 2065). Companies using blockchains may

benefit from this inventory management with the combination of IoT (Internet of Things)

devices that store data digitally. Some examples of IoT are RFID (Radio Frequency

Identification) tags and wireless sensor networks. These devices allow for active GPS

monitoring, and exact knowledge of air pollutants, temperature conditions, and pressure

conditions. One method of using tracking tools and blockchains in transportation and logistics is

to unite them with smart contracts. Smart contracts automate transfers of currency and other

assets. This innovation can fulfill direct deposits to suppliers or distributors once they

successfully deliver goods to a processing facility or warehouse. If the agreed quantity is

delivered, and if there are no other conditions to be met (e.g. deliveries undergoing quality

assessments and approved by the buyer), the smart contract can automatically release the

payment to the supplier (Pournader 2071). The process outlined will guarantee quality, speed up

confirmed payments, and amplify overall company output. Suppliers who get paid faster will be

able to reinvest that money to create more supply-chain products faster.

Real-world success stories of using this technology include IBM’s Hyperledger Fabric

Blockchain and Hong Kong’s Belt and Road Blockchain Consortium. IBM created a digital

network for the COVID-19 vaccine “cold chain.” They connected those in the vaccine supply

chain including manufacturers, public health hosting authorities, and regulatory organizations for

them to gain instant access to the location, status, and conditions under which the vaccines were

prepared and distributed (Pourander 2072). Securing the life-saving vaccine under safe handling
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conditions with known scientific precision is remarkable. Further, Hong Kong pieced together

the One Belt One Road initiative (OBOR) and secured funding for construction projects across

more than 56 countries using the blockchain. An aspect of blockchain technology that can

facilitate trade across OBOR is the use of a unified currency such as a cryptocurrency to reduce

transaction costs and create a single trade market for participating countries (Pourander 2072).

Creating ease of entry for trading partners increases the potential gain for the participating

parties.

Moreover, we may see it evolve into the public sector through governmental voting

systems, public financing, and national/state/local elections. As found in my research, there are

other areas for the use of this innovation in this domain. “Potential implementation areas include

identity management, attestation, government records... permit/license management,

entitlements, and citizen services management … as well as voting, taxation, and customs

management” (Rodriguez Bolivar 360). The switch would improve services and enhance trust

and transparency in government functions. Once the transactions are validated and posted to the

blockchain, the results cannot be modified anymore, which is guaranteed by the use of secure

hash functions. The security and dependability of your authentic documents are core to your

livelihood. A decade of developing the privacy and security features for this framework is

needed before full implementation of processing these sensitive materials. Nonetheless, we

should transition toward digital governance.

We’ll see more research topics on the uses of blockchain in the public sector as we start

to utilize this technology on a large scale. In our current political climate, there is fear and

uncertainty in our democracy. Though it is not easy to wrap my mind around the administration

of a blockchain network, the governance and concepts of well-integrated blockchains will

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enhance the credibility of future elections. With such strife of a sitting president claiming

election fraud, this response would be a sure-fire method of registering and counting our votes.

Real-time data counts and a high-level degree of tamper-proof transactions will bring ease of

mind. (Though, I believe the public will first be skeptical of this technology as it is not

understood immediately.) Every bit of evidence is connected to a unique person’s address,

signature, and timestamp, registering time in hundredths of a second, as only a computer knows

how to calculate. Our research, implementation, and understanding of the blockchain

technologies to “count the vote” will paint a transparent image for congress to verify the results

with certainty. Our democracy will be enhanced through the authentic vote being precisely

tallied. The true will of the people will be invariably visible.

“In the public blockchain, data transparency has been maximized, but privacy is lacking.

In contrast, in a private blockchain, permissions are tightly controlled at the expense of data

transparency” (Huang et al. 60:25). Different types of blockchain exist, and for good reason. The

administrators and engineers of this technology determine who has what access for each use

case. As the financial specialists in the country believe, blockchain stands to make business and

government activities progressively exact, effective, and secure (Rani 151). Better business and

better government operations are welcomed!

The financial market holds the best chance of profiting from incorporating blockchain

into its operations. Expenses can be reduced by automating the processing, protection, and

monitoring of customer transactions. Within 10 minutes, during any hour, on any given day, your

financial transaction can be processed on the blockchain. This compares to the standard bank

processing times of Monday-Friday, 9:00 am-5:00 pm with few to no hours open on the

weekends. Domestic wire transfers can take up to three days (Dixon). For bigger businesses that
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rely on large sum payments for supplies and payroll, this method of sending and receiving

money is beneficial. Rani and others believe that Blockchain possesses the potential “to build a

radically better financial system.” The financial market is the largest player in the money game.

Few companies control our market, few can extort high influence in the legislation and few have

knowledge of the intense regulations they must abide by. To multiply the rate of success in the

implementation of this technological innovation in the financial sector, major players such as

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo must adapt and

improve the technology for use across their institutions.

“Under the private business approach, some authors have divided the evolution of the

Blockchain-related research into three different stages, (1) digital currency, (2) digital economy,

and (3) digital society” (Rodriguez Bolivar 368). Research tells us that we are in the first state of

this technology. It is now common to see news of cryptocurrencies weekly, typically in a

negative light. The negativity must stem from the lack of legislation pertaining to it and its

complexity. Despite that, we will see this concept of digital currency expand into our economy.

We will see transactions for homes and cars on this digital ledger. In fact, there have already been

home sales finalized using this method in the US and abroad. The digital society will be the last

advance of Blockchain. We will witness it in smart cities in real life and the metaverse.

On top of that, the Australian Stock Exchange has announced that it holds Blockchain as

the technological partner for building the next generation Central Securities Depository (CSD)

(Rani 164). Transitioning its money market to the digital economy is a leap in trust. Holding

valuable assets in a digital ledger has its challenges. Safety standard processes would need to be

developed to protect users from information loss and data compromise. Digital glitches will need

to be kept at a minimum and legislation to protect end-users would need to be in place before
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trading takes place. Along similar lines, a report published by Jupiter Research has revealed that

the banking sector would be in a position to achieve over $27 bn of cost-savings accounting for

more than 11% of inter-country transactions by 2030 (Rani 167). Saving money is certainly

attractive. Banks currently spend billions a year processing transactions that can now be

processed autonomously. (The setback:) Woefully, a Forbes report, dated January 16, 2015, cites

that an almost 90% disappointment rate can be expected on introducing a new technology in any

field (Rani 163). We can be disappointed in the short term, but over the next two decades, we

must transition to operating with the blockchain to automate manual systems effectively.

Blockchain is a technology we will chase into the future. The trivial uses and the in-depth

uses of this tech are extraordinary. If the United States wanted to create its currency, it will be

wise to use this building block to easily facilitate transactions down the road. Little discussed in

this paper are the many challenges of implementing this on a large scale. Let us not be

discouraged to take on this learning challenge. It’s a good idea for a few hundred thousand

professionals to study and practice this subject now. The internal programming of this software

will impact the future of transactions for modern civilization for decades to come.
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Blockchain architecture visualization (Rani 153) Uses of blockchain in finance model (Rani 161)
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Works Cited

Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Future of the Internet. Directed by Torsten Hoffman,

and Michael Watchulonis. Studio Hamburg Enterprises, 2021.

Dixon, Amanda. “How Long Does a Wire Transfer Take?” SmartAsset, SmartAsset, 1 Nov.

2021,

https://smartasset.com/checking-account/how-long-does-a-wire-transfer-take#:~:text=Tra

nsfers%20typically%20happen%20quickly.,service%20may%20happen%20within%20m

inutes.

Foley, Ian. “Retail Blues.” Cartoon. Bitcoin Magazine: Bitcoin News, Articles, Charts, and

Guides. 17 Oct. 2019, bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/cartoon-retail-blues.

Huang, Jun, et al. “The Application of the Blockchain Technology in Voting Systems: A

Review,” ACM Computing Surveys, vol. 54, no.3, May 2021, pp. 1-28.

EBSCOhost, https://proxylib.msjc.edu:2098/10.1145/3439725.

Pournader, Mehrdokht, et al. “Blockchain Applications in Supply Chains, Transport and

Logistics: A Systematic Review of the Literature.” International Journal of Production

Research, vol. 58, no. 7, Apr. 2020, pp. 2063–81. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2019.1650976.

Rani, Neelam, et al. “Blockchain in Capital Markets: Applications, Possibilities and Challenges.”

South Asian Journal of Management, vol. 28, no. 1, Jan. 2021, pp. 150–70. EBSCOhost,

proxylib.msjc.edu/login?url=https://https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&

db=bsh&AN=150904867&site=eds-live.
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Rodriguez Bolivar, Manuel Pedro, et al. “Mapping Potential Impact Areas of

Blockchain Use in the Public Sector.” Information Polity: The International Journal of

Government & Democracy in the Information Age, vol. 24, no. 4, October 2019, pp.

359–78. EBSCOhost, https://proxylib.msjc.edu:2098/10.3233/IP-190184.