Unity university emerging

technology group assignment

Survey paper
Blockchain

Group member ID no’s

1 Biruktawit Bekele 04131/14
2 Dagim Nahusenay 04079/14
3 Dagim Adugna 05033/14
4 Dagmawit Belete 04069/14
5 Dagmawit Kasahun 05110/14
6 Daniel Desta 04089/14
7 Daniel Yohannis 05100/14

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 Blockchain
Abstract
A blockchain is essentially a distributed database of records or public ledger of all
transactions or digital events that have been executed and shared among
participating parties. Each transaction in the public ledger is verified by consensus
of a majority of the participants in the system. And, once entered, information
can never be erased. The blockchain contains a certain and verifiable record of
every single transaction ever made. Bitcoin, the decentralized peer to peer digital
currency, is the most popular example that uses blockchain technology. The
digital currency bitcoin itself is highly controversial but the underlying blockchain
technology has worked flawlessly and found wide range of applications in both
financial and nonfinancial world. The main hypothesis is that the blockchain
establishes a system of creating a distributed consensus in the digital online
world. This allows participating entities to know for certain that a digital event
happened by creating an irrefutable record in a public ledger. It opens the door
for developing a democratic open and scalable digital economy from a centralized
one. There are tremendous opportunities in this disruptive technology and
revolution in this space has just begun. This white paper describes blockchain
technology and some compelling specific applications in both financial and non-
financial sector. We then look at the challenges ahead and business opportunities
in this fundamental technology that is all set to revolutionize our digital world .

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Contents

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Introduction

The concept of Blockchain first came to fame in October 2008, as part of a

proposal for Bitcoin, with the aim to create P2P money without banks. Bitcoin
introduced a novel solution to the age-old human problem of trust. The
underlying blockchain technology allows us to trust the outputs of the system
without trusting any actor within it. People and institutions who do not know or
trust each other, reside in different countries, are subject to different
jurisdictions, and who have no legally binding agreements with each other, can
now interact over the Internet without the need for trusted third parties like
banks, Internet platforms, or other types of clearing institutions.
However, the Bitcoin white paper didn’t come out of thin air, and P2P networks
are not a new phenomenon. They are rooted in the early history of the computer
and Internet, building on decades of research of computer networks,
cryptography, and game theory (see Appendix: Origins of Bitcoin). The Bitcoin
white paper resolved the problem of centralized data storage and information
management. All computers in the network hold an identical copy of the ledger of
transactions, which acts as a single point of reference. Storing data across a P2P
network eliminates problems arising from the vulnerability of centralized servers
while using different cryptographic methods to secure the network.
Blockchain hereby provides a universal state layer, a universal data set that every
actor can trust, even though they might not know or trust each other. This new
form of distributed data storage and management also avoids the double-
spending problem of existing value transfer over the Internet. Ideas around
cryptographically secured P2P networks have been discussed in the academic
environment in different evolutionary stages, mostly in theoretical papers, since
the 1980s. However, before the emergence of Bitcoin, there has never been a
practical implementation of a P2P network that managed to avoid the double-
spending problem, without the need for trusted intermediaries guaranteeing

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value exchange.

Double-Spending Problem: The way the Internet is designed today, one can spend
the same value – issued as a digital asset – multiple times, because digital
information can be copied, and copies of that same digital le can be sent from one
computer to multiple other computers at the same time. Physical values, on the
other hand, don’t have that problem. They cannot be easily replicated, as the
parties involved in a transaction can immediately verify the physical token – a bill,
a coin, or another object of value, like a commodity or a collectable. While
counterfeiting physical values like bills and coins is theoretically possible, it usually
requires considerable expertise, since they are designed to be hard (and
expensive) to copy.
Distributed Ledger: The Bitcoin blockchain protocol introduced a mechanism of
making it expensive to copy digital values. A copy of the ledger is stored on
multiple devices of a cryptographically secured P2P network. The ledger is a le,
also called blockchain. It maintains a continuously growing list of transaction data
records, chained in blocks that are cryptographically secured from tampering and
revision. In order to change the contents of that ledger, network users need to
reach a mutual agreement, also referred to as consensus. Blockchain can,
therefore, be described as a shared, trusted, public ledger of transactions, that
everyone can inspect, but which no single user controls. The ledger is built as a
linked list – or chain of blocks – where each block contains a certain number of
transactions that were validated by the network in a given timespan. Each block

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furthermore includes the cryptographic hash of the prior block in the blockchain,
linking one block with another into a chain of blocks, which guarantees the
integrity of the previous block all the way back to the first block, the genesis
block. Since the ledger records transactions across many computers, data on the
blockchain cannot be altered retroactively, without the alteration of all
subsequent blocks.

Definition of Blockchain
A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology (DLT) that consists of
growing list of records, called blocks, that are securely linked together
using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous
block, a timestamp, and transaction data (generally represented as a Merkle tree,
where data nodes are represented by leaves). The timestamp proves that the
transaction data existed when the block was created. Since each block contains
information about the previous block, they effectively form
a chain (compare linked list data structure), with each additional block linking to
the ones before it. Consequently, blockchain transactions are irreversible in that,
once they are recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered
retroactively without altering all subsequent blocks.
Blockchains are typically managed by a peer-to-peer (P2P) computer network for
use as a public distributed ledger, where nodes collectively adhere to a consensus
algorithm protocol to add and validate new transaction blocks. Although
blockchain records are not unalterable, since blockchain forks are possible,
blockchains may be considered secure by design and exemplify a distributed
computing system with high Byzantine fault tolerance.
While blockchain is still largely confined to use in recording and storing
transactions for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, proponents of blockchain
technology are developing and testing other uses for blockchain, including these:

 Blockchain for payment processing and money transfers. Transactions

processed over a blockchain could be settled within a matter of seconds
and reduce (or eliminate) banking transfer fees.
 Blockchain for monitoring of supply chains. Using blockchain, businesses
could pinpoint inefficiencies within their supply chains quickly, as well as

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 locate items in real time and see how products perform from a quality-
control perspective as they travel from manufacturers to retailers.
 Blockchain for digital IDs. Microsoft is experimenting with blockchain
technology to help people control their digital identities, while also giving
users control over who accesses that data.
 Blockchain for data sharing. Blockchain could act as an intermediary to
securely store and move enterprise data among industries.
 Blockchain for copyright and royalties protection. Blockchain could be
used to create a decentralized database that ensures artists maintain their
music rights and provides transparent and real-time royalty distributions to
musicians. Blockchain could also do the same for open source developers.
 Blockchain for Internet of Things network management. Blockchain could
become a regulator of IoT networks to “identify devices connected to a
wireless network, monitor the activity of those devices, and determine how
trustworthy those devices are” and to “automatically assess the
trustworthiness of new devices being added to the network, such as cars
and smartphones.”
 Blockchain for healthcare. Blockchain could also play an important role in
healthcare: “Healthcare payers and providers are using blockchain to
manage clinical trials data and electronic medical records while maintaining
regulatory compliance.”

A blockchain was created by a person (or group of people) using the name
(or pseudonym) Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 to serve as the public distributed
ledger for bitcoin cryptocurrency transactions, based on previous work by Stuart
Haber, W. Scott Stornetta, and Dave Bayer. The implementation of the blockchain
within bitcoin made it the first digital currency to solve the double-
spending problem without the need of a trusted authority or central server.
The bitcoin design has inspired other applications and blockchains that are
readable by the public and are widely used by cryptocurrencies. The blockchain
may be considered a type of payment rail.
Private blockchains have been proposed for business use. Computerworld called
the marketing of such privatized blockchains without a proper security model
"snake oil"; however, others have argued that permissioned blockchains, if
carefully designed, may be more decentralized and therefore more secure in
practice than permissionless ones.

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Types of Blockchains
There are primarily two types of blockchains: Private and Public blockchain.
However, there are several variations too, like Consortium and Hybrid
blockchains. Before we get into details of the different types of blockchains, let us
first learn what similarities do they share. Every blockchain consists of a cluster of
nodes functioning on a peer-to-peer (P2P) network system. Every node in a

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network has a copy of the shared ledger which gets updated timely. Each node
can verify transactions, initiate or receive transactions and create blocks.

1) Public Blockchain
A public blockchain is a non-restrictive, permission-less distributed ledger system.
Anyone who has access to the internet can sign in on a blockchain platform to
become an authorized node and be a part of the blockchain network. A node or
user which is a part of the public blockchain is authorized to access current and
past records, verify transactions or do proof-of-work for an incoming block, and
do mining. The most basic use of public blockchains is for mining and exchanging
cryptocurrencies. Thus, the most common public blockchains
are Bitcoin and Litecoin blockchains. Public blockchains are mostly secure if the
users strictly follow security rules and methods. However, it is only risky when the
participants don’t follow the security protocols sincerely.
Example: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin
Advantages 

 The data is not in the control of any single person.

 It has applications in the public sector, such as healthcare and education.

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It is immutable, which means that once an entry is made on the blockchain
and validated by validators, it cannot be changed or removed. An entry is
validated when a majority of people agree that it is correct.
 It is decentralized and runs on a peer-to-peer computer network.
 The blockchain's validators and participants remain anonymous.

Disadvantages 
 Proof of Work consensus process is used by some public blockchains, such as
Bitcoin, where members must solve a challenging mathematical problem to
validate a transaction. It necessitates the use of numerous resources, which is a
costly endeavor.
 In public blockchains, you don't have to verify your identity; instead, you simply
commit your computing power to join the network.
 Speed: One of the most significant issues with various public blockchains, such
as bitcoin, is that they handle just 4.6 transactions per second, whereas Visa
processes 1700 transactions per second.
2 Private blockchain
A private blockchain is a restrictive or permission blockchain operative only in a
closed network. Private blockchains are usually used within an organization or
enterprises where only selected members are participants of a blockchain
network. The level of security, authorizations, permissions, accessibility is in the
hands of the controlling organization. Thus, private blockchains are similar in use
as a public blockchain but have a small and restrictive network. Private blockchain
networks are deployed for voting, supply chain management, digital identity,
asset ownership, etc.
Examples of private blockchains are; Multichain and Hyperledger projects
(Fabric, Sawtooth), Corda, etc.
Advantages   
 Faster transactions are associated with the former type of control.

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  Private Blockchain Networks are often modest at first, with only a few
participants.
 In terms of management, the smaller size of a private Blockchain network
compared to a public Blockchain network offers two key benefits: downtimes
are decreased while uptimes are increased, and scaling is enabled.
 Because the technology vendor has control over the infrastructure, it can
more easily follow and adopt those needs.
Disadvantages 
 With the issue of scalability in mind, the practical usage of blockchain
becomes a little difficult to conceive.
 The issue of storage arises because blockchain databases are retained
permanently on all network nodes. Unfortunately, this demonstrates that
blockchain is not completely safe.
 Regulations - Financial regulatory frameworks provide difficulty for blockchain
deployment.
3. Consortium blockchain
 A consortium blockchain is a semi-decentralized kind in which a blockchain
network is managed by many organizations. This is in contrast to a private
blockchain, which is controlled by a single entity. 
 In this sort of blockchain, more than one organization can operate as a node,
exchanging information or mining. Banks, government agencies, and other
institutions frequently employ consortium blockchains.
 Consortium blockchains differ from public blockchains in that they are
permissioned, meaning that not simply anybody with an internet connection can
access them. The consensus procedure for a consortium blockchain is likely to
differ from that of a public blockchain.
 Rather than allowing anybody to participate in the method, consensus
participants are more likely to be selected. Consortium blockchains possess the

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security features that are inherent in public blockchains, whilst also allowing for a
greater degree of control.

Advantages 
 The consortium blockchain is completely monitored by a certain group but
is secured from dominance.
 The element of privacy is much in consortium blockchain since the
information from the checked blocks is unknown to the public view.
 Unlike a public blockchain, there are no fees for transactions in the
consortium blockchain.
 Another difference that sets apart consortium blockchain from public
blockchain is its feature of flexibility. But this does not happen in a
consortium.

Disadvantages 
  One of the major disadvantages of this blockchain is being centralized, which
makes it prone to attack from malicious players.
 Whenever the number of participants becomes limited, it is estimated of one
of them to be at fault.
 Since there is less flexibility found in an enterprise in comparison to SME,
erecting a general network between enterprises is very sloth.
Hybrid blockchain 
The hybrid blockchain is best characterized as one that combines the greatest
features of both private and public blockchain systems. In an ideal world, a hybrid
blockchain would allow for both regulated and unrestricted access.
The hybrid blockchain architecture is different from conventional blockchain
designs in that it is not open to the public but yet delivers blockchain benefits like
integrity, transparency, and security.
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Hybrid blockchain architecture is totally configurable, just like any other
blockchain design. Members of the hybrid blockchain may decide who is allowed
to join the network and which transactions are made public. This method
combines the best of both worlds and ensures that a company can effectively
collaborate with its stakeholders. 
 Advantages
 Works in A Closed Ecosystem: The number one advantage of hybrid
blockchain is its ability to work in a closed ecosystem.
 Changes the Rules When Needed: Companies thrive on change. The good
news about hybrid blockchain as they need to change rules.
 Protecting Privacy While Still Communicating with The Outer World: Even
though private blockchain is best for privacy-related issues.
 Low Transaction Cost: Another added benefit of using hybrid blockchain is
to have a low transaction cost.
Disadvantages
The fact that the hybrid blockchain lacks some of the transparency of other
blockchains, and there is no prerogative for a business to undergo the extensive
and challenging adoption process.
Nonetheless, there are still effective use cases in real estate, retail, and various
other markets that are beholden to steep regulations.

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 How does Blockchain Works?
In general, Blockchain is a chain of blocks, and a block consists of three things:
Data, Hash, and Hash of the previous block. Each block in the chain contains a
cryptographic hash of its own and the last block to stay connected in the chain. A
Block is a primary unit of blockchain. In the blockchain, a block is a collection of
data or information. The information is added to the block in the blockchain by
connecting it with other blocks in chronological order and creating a chain of
blocks linked together. Thus, it forms a chronological database of transactions
that is shared with multiple nodes, i.e. computers or servers, in a network. The
unique number added to a hashed or encrypted block called Nonce that can be
used only once is selected by the miners to solve a cryptographic puzzle for
generating the next block in the chain. It is known as Proof of Work. A Hash is a
unique alphanumeric identifying code or number generated when any transaction
happens in the blockchain. Hash is based on data of its own, a hash of the
previous one, and its timestamp (Peck, 2017).

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When a transaction happens in the blockchain, that transaction is recorded in a
block, and that block must be validated before adding it into the chain. The
authenticity of a block must be verified through a consensus algorithm in which
the majority of nodes (clients or servers) and the nodes having the highest stack
in the chain of the distributed network must validate the block before adding to it
in a chain. After the validation of the block, a unique, identifying code, i.e. a hash,
is generated. By doing this, we do not need any third-party interference to
validate or to do transactions. Blocks can be recognized by their block number or
block height and block header hash. The data in the blocks is detected through a
computerized algorithm known as the hash function. This function locks the data
to be seen by the participants in the Blockchain and makes the data immutable.
Every block has its own hash function. In Blockchain, the data is recorded for
permanent and will not be changed. A small change in it generates a new block in
the chain. Blockchain works like a digital notary with timestamps to avoid
tampering with any information.

Advantages of Blockchain
1. Data Integrity: Blockchain technologies are designed in such a way that any
block or even a transaction that adds to the chain cannot be edited, which
ultimately provides a very high range of security.
2. Free from Censorship: Blockchain technology is considered free from
censorship as it does not have control of any single party rather it has the concept
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of trustworthy nodes for validation and consensus protocols that approve
transactions by using smart contracts.
3. Verifiable: Blockchain technology is used to store information in a
decentralized manner so everyone can verify the correctness of the information
by using zero-knowledge proof through which one party proves the correctness of
data to another party without revealing anything about data.
4. Distributed: Since blockchain data is often stored in thousands of devices on a
distributed network of nodes, the system and the data are highly resistant to
technical failures and malicious attacks. Each network node is able to replicate
and store a copy of the database and, because of this, there is no single point of
failure.
5. Traceability: The format of Blockchain is designed such that it creates an
irreversible audit trail, making it easy and accessible to trace any addition to the
chain.
6. Immutability: Data cannot be tampered with in blockchain technology due to
its decentralized structure so any change will be reflected in all the nodes so one
cannot do fraud here, hence it can be claimed that transactions are tamper-proof.
7. Open: One of the major advantages of blockchain technology is that it is
accessible to all means anyone can become a participant in the contribution to
blockchain technology, one does not require any permission from anybody to join
the distributed network.
8. Stability: Once data has been registered into the blockchain, it is extremely
difficult to remove or change it. This makes blockchain a great technology for
storing financial records or any other data where an audit trail is required because
every change is tracked and permanently recorded on a distributed and public
ledger.
9. Security: Blockchain technology is highly secure as each member of the
Blockchain network is provided with a unique identity that is linked to their
account. Also, the block encryption in the chain makes it tougher for any hacker
to disturb the traditional setup of the chain

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10. Faster processing: Before the invention of the blockchain, the traditional
banking organization took a lot of time in processing and initiating the transaction
but after the blockchain technology speed of the transaction increased to a very
high extent. Before this, the overall banking process took around three days to
settle but after the introduction of Blockchain, the time reduced to nearly minutes
or even seconds.
11. No third-party interference – No government or financial institution has
control of the cryptocurrencies that operate on blockchain technology. This
means no government can meddle with the value of the currency.
12. Secure transactions – The blockchain responsible for keeping record of all the
transactions cannot be edited or manipulated. Both ends of a transaction and the
public can view the transaction data at any given time. This makes online
transactions more secure.
13. Instant transactions – Blockchain technology transactions are completed in a
few minutes. Take for example a bank transaction made to a person with a
different bank account. It takes two days minimum to complete the transactions.
At this time, the person doing virtual transactions with crypto can complete a
series of transactions.

Disadvantages of Blockchain
1. Power Use: The consumption of power in the Blockchain is comparatively high
due to mining activities. Keeping a real-time ledger is one of the reasons for this
consumption because every time it creates a new node, it communicates with
each and every other node at the same time.
2. Cost: Each crypto transaction also demands high energy. There are very fewer
chances that this issue can be resolved by the advancement in technology. The
other factor is that the storage problem might be covered by energy issues that
cannot be resolved.
3. Immaturity: Blockchain is only a couple-year-old technology, so people do not
have much confidence in it, they are not ready to invest in it yet several
applications of blockchain are doing great in different industries but still it needs
to win the confidence of even more people to be recognized for its complete
utilization.
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4. Time-Consuming: To add the next block in the chain miners need to compute
nonce values many times so this is a time-consuming process and needs to be
sped up to be used for industrial purposes.
5. Legal Formality: In each and every part of the world modern money has been
created and controlled by the central government. It becomes a hurdle for Bitcoin
to get accepted by the preexisting financial institutions.
6. 51% Attacks: The Proof of Work consensus algorithm that protects the
cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in blockchain has proven to be very efficient over the
years. However, there are a few potential attacks that can be performed against
blockchain networks, and 51% attacks are among the most common ones. Such
an attack may happen if one entity manages to control more than 50% of the
network hashing power, which would eventually allow them to disrupt the
network by intentionally excluding or modifying the ordering of transactions.
7. Elimination of Errors: The application must be updated on each node of the
peer-to-peer network or forked if any part of the nodes doesn’t accept the
amendments.
8. Network Robustness for Dedicated Purposes: All applications have a business
logic behind them. The logic defines how new applications must work in terms of
business requirements. By nature, blockchain employs a strict logic that doesn’t
allow redesign without the loss of benefits leading to the need for logical business
changes to be acceptable to the blockchain solution.
9. Difficulty of Development: Applying very complex protocols to achieve
consensus and allow for scaling from the beginning is very important. One cannot
hastily implement an idea hoping to later add new features and expand the
application without redeployment of the network or forking.
10. Inefficient: Blockchains, especially those using Proof of Work, are highly
inefficient. Since mining is highly competitive and there is just one winner every
ten minutes, the work of every other miner is wasted.
11. Storage: Blockchain ledgers can grow very large over time. The Bitcoin
blockchain currently requires around 200 GB of storage. The current growth in
blockchain size appears to be outstripping the growth in hard drives and the

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network risks losing nodes if the ledger becomes too large for individuals to
download and store.
12. Scalability: It is one of the biggest drawbacks of blockchain technology as it
cannot be scaled due to the fixed size of the block for storing information. The
block size is 1 MB due to which it can hold only a couple of transactions on a
single block.

Challenging factors of blockchain

Inefficient Technological Design
This is one of the major challenges of implementing blockchain. Although
blockchain technology has a lot of perks, it still lacks in many technological ways.
A coding flaw or loophole is one of the significant points in this.
Bitcoin was the frontier in this regard, but still, the whole system reeks of
inefficient design. Sure, Ethereum tried to cover up all the lackings of Bitcoin, but
it’s still not enough.
Let’s take decentralized application development, for example. Ethereum allows
developers to implement dApps based on their system. And to this date, there
have been many dApps based on them.
However, most of them seem to have a matter of false coding and loopholes.
Users can utilize these loopholes and hack into the system quickly. So, all that talk
about security isn’t correctly working here.
If we can fix this blockchain adoption challenge, things will surely become more
comfortable.
The Criminal Connection
The anonymous feature of the blockchain technology attracted not only experts
but also criminal personals. Why? Well, the nature of the network
is decentralized so that no one can know your true identity.
This makes bitcoin the primary target used as a currency in the black market and
the dark web.

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Not a good thing to build up the reputation. This bad name is making many
people think twice before looking into the whole system. Moreover, it’s natural
for people wanting to stay away from any criminal association.
Criminals now use these cryptocurrencies to purchase limited illegal equipment
and payment methods. They also ask for cryptocurrencies in exchange as a
ransom. The only way to cope up with this is to stop the criminal connection and
for all for better blockchain implementation.
 Low Scalability
Another one of the challenges of implementing blockchain is scalability. In reality,
blockchains work fine for a small number of users. But what happens when a
mass integration will take place? Ethereum and Bitcoin now have the highest
number of users on the network, and needless to say, they are having a hard time
dealing with the situation.
When the user number increase on the network, the transitions take longer to
process. As a result, the transactions cost higher than usual, and this also restricts
more users on the network.
It can take even days to process the whole transaction. So, in the end, this
blockchain adoption challenge is making the technology less and less lucrative.
Few of the blockchain technologies did show us a faster output, but they also
slow down when more users log in to the system.
So, this challenge needs to be dealt with pretty fast, as it’s making the whole
technology kind of dull.
High Energy Consumption
Energy consumption is another blockchain adoption challenge. Most of the
blockchain technology follow bitcoins infrastructure and use Proof of Work as
a consensus algorithm.
However, Proof of Work is not as great as it looks. To keep the system live, it will
need computational power. You probably heard about mining.

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Mining will require you to solve complex equations using your computer. So, your
PC will take more and more electricity to overcome this situation when you start
mining.
At present, miners are using 0.2% of the total electricity. If it keeps increasing
then, miners will take more power than the world can provide. Thus, it now
becomes one of the primary challenges of this network.
Many organizations are trying to avoid blockchain altogether just for this
challenge. That’s why the situation needs to be under control as it’s one of the
main challenges in adopting blockchain technology. But how?
Well, blockchain can utilize other consensus methods to validate the transitions.
Consensus algorithms that require very little energy to process.
This is the only way we can genuinely make blockchain technology a blessing
again.
Lack of Privacy
Blockchain and privacy don’t go really well with each other. The public ledger
system fuels the system, so full privacy is not the first concern.
But can any organization function without privacy? Well, no. Many companies
that work with the privacy needs to have defined boundaries. Their consumers
trust them with sensitive information. So, if they are all stored in a public ledger,
it won’t actually be private anymore now, would it?
That’s why it is necessary to change the registers to limit access to the data.
Making it available for only the customers will be a solution here.
This is an essential requirement in the case of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
On the other hand, this raises some concerns for governments and companies.
Governments and companies always need to protect and restrict access to their
data for various reasons.
This means that blockchain technology won’t be able to work with sensitive
information until anyone solves the problem.
Private or federated blockchain can work here. You would get limited access, and
all your sensitive information would stay private as it should.

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Security Problems
Security is another crucial topic here. We all know how every blockchain
technology boasts about its security. But like any other technology, blockchain
also comes with a few security loops.
The 51% attack on the network is one of the security flaws of the network. In this
attack, hackers can take over the network and exploit it in their way. They can
even alter the transaction process and restrict other people from creating a block.
To deal with this, the protocol layer needs more security. We already saw some of
its security loopholes by now. However, only a handful of scenarios have good
protocols that can cope with this. So, no one knows whether they are safe to use
for a long time.
Lack of Adequate Skill Sets
In addition to software and hardware, you must also find qualified personnel to
manage blockchain technology. As you know, blockchain technology is relatively
new and is still evolving. At the moment, few people have the skills to support
such technology.
On the other hand, the demand for this qualified staff is enormous. So, if you
want to hire skilled people, you’ll have to pay up large salaries. The right people
will cost you.
Like any technological innovation, the blockchain will continue to evolve. Yes,
there may be challenges, but they are not obstacles. Adopting new regulations
and standards is a must. Before you know it, you are also considering using
blockchain technology for your company. So, beware of the blockchain adoption
challenges.
Public Perception
Another one of the huge challenges to adopting blockchain technology is the lack
of knowledgebase. In reality, the majority of the public is still not aware of the
existence and potential use of this technology. If we want blockchain to be
successful, it has to earn acceptance. Even though the technology is making
history, still it’s not enough to attract more consumers.

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Also, the lack of proper marketing for this niche is making it unpopular. So, if you
are not involved with this, you won’t even know it exists.
Currently, blockchain technology is almost the same meaning as Bitcoin. Most
people only think bitcoin is the only blockchain network. Others don’t even know
about it except the cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, the value of Bitcoin continues to rise to unprecedented levels. And
also, cryptocurrency remains associated with the dark transactions of money
laundering, black trade, and other illegal activities.
Before the general adoption is possible, members of the public must understand
the difference between bitcoins, other cryptocurrencies, and blockchain. This will
help to eliminate the negative implications of cryptocurrencies and make the
technology shine by itself. It will be the result in an increased willingness to use
the technology.
Applications of Blockchain
1. Asset Management
Blockchain plays a big part in the financial world and it is no different in asset
management. In general terms, asset management involves the handling and
exchange of different assets that an individual may own such as fixed income, real
estate, equity, mutual funds, commodities, and other alternative investments.
Normal trading processes in asset management can be very expensive, especially
if the trading involves multiple countries and cross border payments. In such
situations, Blockchain can be a big help as it removes the needs for any
intermediaries such as the broker, custodians, brokers, settlement managers, etc.
Instead, the blockchain ledge provides a simple and transparent process that
removes the chances of error.
2. Cross-Border Payments
Have you ever tried to make cross-border payments in different currencies from
one country to another? This can be a long-complicated process and it can take
many days for the money to arrive at its destination. Blockchain has helped in
simplifying these cross-border payments by providing end-to-end remittance
services without any intermediaries. There are many remittance companies that

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offer Blockchain services which can be used to make international remittances
within 24 hours.

3. Healthcare
Blockchain can have a big impact on healthcare using smart contracts. These
smart contacts mean that a contract is made between 2 parties without needing
any intermediary. All the parties involved in the contract know the contract
details and the contract is implemented automatically when the contract
conditions are met. This can be very useful in healthcare wearing personal health
records can be encoded via Blockchain so they are only accessible to primary
healthcare providers with a key. They also help in upholding the HIPAA Privacy
Rule which ensures that patient information is confidential and not accessible to
everyone.
4. Cryptocurrency
Perhaps one of the most popular applications of Blockchain is in Cryptocurrency.
Who hasn’t heard about bitcoin and it’s insane popularity. One of the many
advantages of cryptocurrency using blockchain as it has no geographical
limitations. So crypto coins can be used for transactions all over the world. The
only important thing to keep in mind is exchange rates and that people may lose
some money in this process. However, this option is much better than regional
payment apps such as Paytm in India that are only relevant in a particular country
or geographical region and cannot be used to pay money to people in other
countries.
5. Birth and Death Certificates
There are many people in the world who don’t have a legitimate birth certificate
especially in the poorer countries of the world. According to UNICEF, one-third of
all the children under the age of five don’t have a birth certificate. And the
problem is similar to death certificates as well. However, Blockchain can help in
solving this problem by creating a secure repository of birth and death certificates
that are verified and can only be accessed by the authorized people.

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6. Online Identity Verification
It is not possible to complete any financial transactions online without online
verification and identification. And this is true for all the possible service providers
any user might have in the financial and banking industry. However, blockchain
can centralize the online identity verification process so that users only need to
verify their identity once using blockchain and then they can share this identity
with whichever service provider they want. Users also have the option to choose
their identity verification methods such as user authentication, facial recognition,
etc.

7. Internet of Things
Internet of things is a network of interconnected devices that can interact with
others and collect data that can be used for gaining useful insights. Any system of
“things” becomes IoT once it is connected. The most common example of IoT is
perhaps the Smart Home where all the home appliances such as lights,
thermostat, air conditioner, smoke alarm, etc. can be connected together on a
single platform. But where does Blockchain come into this? Well, Blockchain is
needed for providing security for this massively distributed system. In IoT, the
security of the system is only as good as the least secured device which is the
weak link. Here Blockchain can ensure that the data obtained by the IoT devices
are secure and only visible to trusted parties.
8. Copyright and Royalties
Copyright and royalties are a big issue in creative sectors like music, films, etc.
These are artistic mediums and it doesn’t sound like they have any link with
Blockchain. But this technology is quite important in ensuring security and
transparency in the creative industries. There are many instances where music,
films, art, etc. is plagiarized and due credit is not given to the original artists. This
can be rectified using Blockchain which has a detailed ledger of artist rights.
Blockchain is also transparent and can provide a secure record of artist royalties
and deals with big production companies. The payment of royalties can also be
managed using digital currencies like Bitcoin.
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Conclusion
Blockchain is a relatively new technology that is still not widespread in all
industries, but it is slowly gaining more momentum. Once Blockchain becomes
more widespread, it could become a powerful tool for the democratization of
data that will encourage transparency and ethical business tactics. And the
applications of Blockchain in the world are only increasing with the result of faster
transactions, more transparency, and security as well as reduced costs. Who
knows, Blockchain may change the world in the future!
Reference
 https://www.geeksforgreeks.org
https://www.ibm.com
htttps://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu
 https://www.simplilearn.com
https://bbva.ch
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu
https://101blockchains.com
https://medium.com
https://www.analyticssteps.com
https://data-flair.training

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