Project Report

[Submitted for the degree of B.Com. Honors of the St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous),
Kolkata under the University of Calcutta]

Title of the Project:

APPLICATIONS OF THE BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY: MOVING BEYOND

THE HYPE AROUND CRYPTOCURRENCY

Submitted by

Name: ARATRIKA DATTA

Room Number: 11

Roll number: 0980

Supervised by

Name of the Supervisor: Professor Saptarshi Ray

Month & Year of Submission

April, 2021
 St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous)
Department of Commerce

PROJECT COMPLETION AND PLAGIARISM VERIFICATION CERTIFICATE

Student Name: ARATRIKA DATTA

Room No.: 11 Roll No.: 0980

Title of the dissertation: APPLICATIONS OF THE BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY:

MOVING BEYOND THE HYPE AROUND CRYPTOCURRENCY

The above dissertation was scanned using iThenticate for similarity detection and the
similarity index is as follows:
Similarity Index: 6%

The dissertation may be considered for submission.

Name of the Supervisor: PROF. SAPTARSHI RAY

Signature: ……………………………
Date: 23rd APRIL, 2021.

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 Student’s Declaration

I hereby declare that the Project Work with the title, APPLICATIONS OF THE
BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY: MOVING BEYOND THE HYPE AROUND
CRYPTOCURRENCY submitted by me for the partial fulfillment of the degree
of B.Com. (Honors) at St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata is my original work and
has not been submitted earlier to any other institution for the fulfillment of the requirement for
any course of study.

I also declare that no chapter of this manuscript in whole or in part has been incorporated in
this report from any earlier work done by others or by me. However, extracts of any literature
which has been used for this report has been duly acknowledged providing details of such
literature in the references.

Signature: ………………………
Name: Aratrika Datta
Address: 5, Dr. Sundari Mohon Avenue, Kolkata 700 014.

Room Number: 11
Roll Number: 0980

Place: Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

Date: 23rd April, 2021.

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 CONTENTS
CHAPTER TITLE PAGE
NUMBER
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 5
ABSTRACT 6
1 INTRODUCTION 7
1.1 • LITERATURE REVIEW 8
1.2 • OBJECTIVES 9
1.3 • RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 9
1.3.1 ❖ TIME FRAME 9
1.3.2 ❖ DATA COLLECTION 9
1.3.3 ❖ LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 9
2 BACKGROUND STUDY 10
2.1 • CONCEPT 10
2.2 • KEY FEATURES 11
2.3 • BENEFITS 11
2.4 • DISADVANTAGES 13
2.5 • RISKS 14
3 ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
3.1 • OVERALL GLOBAL TRENDS OF 15
BLOCKCHAIN USAGE
3.2 • CASE STUDIES
3.2.1 ❖ AGRICULTURE 19
3.2.2 ❖ DIGITAL IDENTITY 20
3.2.3 ❖ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE 21
3.2.4 ❖ FINANCIAL INCLUSION 22
3.2.5 ❖ LAND RIGHTS & OWNERSHIPS 23
3.2.6 ❖ ENERGY, CLIMATE & 24
ENVIRONMENT
3.3 • INDIAN SCENARIO 25
4 RECOMMENDATIONS 27
5 CONCLUSION 29
6 REFERENCES 30

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 LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE NUMBER TITLE PAGE
NUMBER
1 TRADITIONAL DATABASE VS BLOCKCHAIN 7
BASE DISTRIBUTED LEDGER

2 KEY FEATURES OF THE BLOCKCHAIN 11

TECHNOLOGY

3 OTHER BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING 12

BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY AND ENSURING
TRUST BEWTEEN PARTIES

4 GLOBAL ECONOMIC POTENTIAL BY 2025 (IN 15

US$ bn)

5 A SURGE IN THE NEW PROJECTS AND 15

PLATFORMS ORIENTED TOWARDS THE USE OF
BLOCKCHAIN BEGAN IN 2013

6 BLOCKCHAIN ENABLES SOLUTIONS NOT 16

PREVIOUSLY POSSIBLE

7 INITIATIVES TAKEN IN DIFFERENT 16

INDUSTRIES.

8 PRIMARY WAYS OF BLOCKCHAIN USAGE 17

9 PRIMARY BENEFITS RECEIVED ON USING 17

BLOCKCHAIN MAPPED IN ORDER OF HIGHEST
MEASURE OF ADVANTAGE RECEIVED TO THE
LOWEST BEING UNKWON AND OTHER
SOURCES.

10 DIFFERENT BLOCKCHAIN IMPLEMENTING 18

ORGANIZATION TYPES IN ORDER OF THEIR
HIGHEST TO LOWEST PERCENTAGE.

11 STRATEGIES FOR BLOCKCHAIN 28

IMPLEMENTATION BY ORGANISATIONS

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to thank my college St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous)
Kolkata, for giving me the opportunity to write this project.

I would then move on to thank my project mentor and guide, Professor Saptarshi Ray for giving
me his constant guidance right from the beginning till the very end. Without his support
and knowledge, I would not have been able to complete this project and hence for his guidance
I am extremely grateful.

Lastly, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to my family and friends for always being
there whenever I have needed any sort of help while working on this project.

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 ABSTRACT
The myth that revolves around the blockchain technology is that blockchain is bitcoin and
bitcoin is blockchain, i.e., the two terms mean one and the same thing. However, like it has
been mentioned in throughout this project that it only a false notion among the common people
else and nothing else. This project is aimed at breaking that hype by explaining what blockchain
technology actually is and that is not the same as any other cryptocurrency currently in
operation. Although it is true that bitcoin made the blockchain technology popular, it must be
noted that bitcoin is merely a use case of this particular technology and is not, in anyway,
synonymous to it.
Blockchain is a new and budding technology with very promising features to help
organisations, institutions and people all over world bring out solutions to problems which
previously seemed unsolvable. This technology is being explored by projects globally, both
whose aims are to earn profit as well as non profit organisations, sometimes even the
governments of different countries as well.
For the countries that have banned bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, have not banned the
technology that runs behind them. This technology is being harnessed all over the world for
taking humanity further by bringing out more transparency od data, data immutability,
authenticity, security, etc. This project has explored the possibilities of blockchain technology
by talking about what it actually is, how it works, its characteristic features, benefits, demerits
and the risks that it brings with itself. The study is also aimed at highlighting the global trends
as per its usage and implementation so far by understanding the different success cases of
blockchain as well.

Key Words: Blockchain, transparency, applications, emerging, cryptocurrency

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 1. INTRODUCTION
A Blockchain is a digital, distributed ledger which cannot be altered. It records transactions
conducted, chronologically and in almost real time. In order for each subsequent transaction to
be added to the ledger, the respective consensus of the participants in the network (called nodes)
is required. This leads to the creation of a continuous mechanism of control in case of errors or
fraudulent activities, manipulation of the data and the relevant data quality.
The blockchain technology was invented by a person or group of persons under the pseudo
name of Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 whose identity has till date not been revealed.
A blockchain is managed by a peer-to-peer mechanism, for use as a distributed ledger (DLT).
It collectively sticks to a procedure for inter-node communication, validating new blocks.
Blockchain records are unchangeable and hence, are considered safe and secure by design. This
technology has been described as a distributed ledger, which is open and that is able to record
transactions between different parties efficiently, permanently and in a verifiable way.

Blockchain is known and has become popular because of the cryptocurrency industry.
However, it is only a myth that blockchain and cryptocurrency are interchangeable terms. Thus,
it is a notion among the general people that blockchain technology and cryptocurrency are not
only interrelated but are also dependent on one another. While it is true that cryptocurrency is
dependent on the blockchain technology, the reverse is not true.

“IT WOULD BE A MISTAKE TO THINK THAT CRYPTOCURRENCIES AND

BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY ARE SO INTERTWINED THAT YOU CAN’T
HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER.” – Anand Swaminathan. Head of McKinsey Digital,
Asia.

Cryptocurrency is simply a use case of blockchain. It was however, the first ever use case of
the blockchain technology. Since then, it has slowly inspired its use in many other fields and
sectors which not only involves the financial industry but also other industries like healthcare,
music, various types of business models, supply chain innovations, real estate, land titling, etc.
Just as an e-mail enabled bilateral messaging, bitcoin enabled bilateral financial transactions
using the same technology that runs it.

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BOOK/ARTICLE/REPORT
Blockchain Risk Management: Risk Deloitte
functions need to play an active role
in shaping blockchain strategy
Blockchain For Social Impact
Global Blockchain Survey, 2018
Blockchain Technology in India
The Impact of the Blockchain Goes Harvard
Beyond Financial Services
Blockchain Beyond The Hype
1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW
AUTHOR YEAR REVIEW
2017 While the implementation of the
technology brings unthought of benefits,
it also brings with itself certain risks. It
is important for any blockchain
implementing organisation to
understand these risks in order to better
understand this evolving technology.
Stanford 2018 Breaking the hype that blockchain
Graduate technology can solely be used for the
School of cryptocurrency industry, this research
Business analyses and talks about how pilot
projects using the blockchain technology
for creating a social impact have already
taken flight.
Price 2018 This survey explains how the blockchain
Waterhouse technology is rewiring the commerce
Coopers and business industry whether a firm is a
leader or a follower in the industry.
Deloitte 2017 Blockchain technology is ushering in
wide variety of experiments by Indian
firms and banks as it is a technology that
is becoming all the more popular over
time. India is not a country to fall behind
in this league. The regulatory bodies are
also taking up initiatives to promote the
adoption of this new technology around
town.
2016 According to this article, blockchain is
Business the new technology that will be
Review. By responsible for transforming the next
Don decade of business. It is safe to call this
Tapscott phase the herald of the second generation
and Alan of the internet.
Tapscott
McKinsey 2018 The insights of the analysis conducted by
& Company this study says that blockchain has
strategic value for organisations by both,
cost reduction as well as creating the
possibilities of new economic models.
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 1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
❖ Future of the blockchain as an emerging technology; beyond its application in the
cryptocurrency industry.
❖ How the blockchain technology is contributing to the growth and development of
different sectors around the world, especially the emerging markets.

1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is an approach to systematically solve research issues. It is essential for
us to know not just the research strategies but also the research procedures. It cannot be ignored
that the main idea of the research lies in its quality and not quantity. It is very important for
researchers to realize the way in which they should apply specific research procedures. They
must also be aware of the importance of such strategies applied. Research procedures are
useful for the analysis of information revolving around a particular subject. The research
methodology will allow the reader to understand the overall objectivity and validity of the
study.

1.3.1 Time Frame:

The time span of the information provided in this project revolves right from 2008, that is the
year of invention of the blockchain technology. Estimates have also been used in this project
for the future years of 2025, as far as 2030 as well.

1.3.2 Data Collection:

The entire study is completely based on secondary data source. All the sources have been
mentioned in the ‘Reference’ section of this project. The graphical analyses are based on the
193 countries that were studied by a secondary data source using primary data. The primary
data collected by the secondary source ranges between the time span of 2008 to 2018.

1.3.3. Limitations of the Study:

❖ This study is completely based on secondary data.
❖ The graphical analysis is based on 193 countries only researched by a secondary
source.
❖ Due to time limitation and the vast resources of data available, all the resources
containing valuable information could not be investigated.
❖ As the data has been collected from secondary sources only, the data may contain
manipulation, biasness as well as, may, in certain cases, not reflect the true situation.

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 2. BACKGROUND STUDY
Blockchain, as a technology is complex, but the central idea is very simple. It is an evolving
technology and it is still at a very nascent stage. Most basically, it is a global, distributed ledger/
database which can be run on millions of devices and can be open to anyone where not only
information but anything of value can be moved and stored privately, like money, titles, deeds,
scientific discoveries, art, music, votes, intellectual property, to name a few.
On the blockchain technology, it is not the powerful intermediaries like technology companies,
governments or banks that establish trust, but it is the mass collaboration and cleverness of
coding that does the job of ensuring integrity and building of trust between strangers; thus,
making it difficult to cheat. It is safe to say that We may be entering into a new phase where
the blockchain may change our society by ushering a new paradigm comprising the ‘Internet
of Trust’ and the ‘Internet of Value.’
The hype around blockchain has focussed its potential to bring about big changes in the
financial services industry which is one of the firsts to be impacted and benefited by the
adoption of blockchain technology and its associated distributed ledger technologies through
the dropping of cost and complexity of financial transactions. However, this research project
includes strong evidence that the blockchain could transform business, society and government
in more profound ways.
In this paper, all the other potential and evolving applications of blockchain technology
have been discussed apart from its usage in cryptocurrency.

2.1 Concept: Understanding How The Blockchain Creates Trust

Who is Who: The identity problem in blockchain is solved by way of digital signatures. Every
user has in his possession a set of 2 digital codes- one is the private key (similar to that of an
account number) and the other is a public key (similar to that of a password) which enables
such users to prove their identity and issue transactions.
Who Owns What: In the blockchain, each block contains a representation of the same data
contained in the previous block and thus, in case of any changes made to the previous data, the
change will get represented throughout the chain. This entire process enables the chain to
identify and refuse any fraudulent attempts to tamper data. Thus, allowing blockchain to
maintain its key characteristic of creating “immutable data,” also known as tamper-proof data.
What’s True: Blockchain makes it feasible to publicly verify if a transaction is true,
eliminating the need of an intermediary. This process, known as “distributed consensus,” is a
vital benefit that lowers costs in transacting using blockchain technology.

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2.2 Key Features:

FIGURE NO.: 2

KEY FEATURES OF THE BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

2.3 Benefits:
The benefits of using blockchain differs from one case to another but it is usually an appropriate
fit wherever there is a lot of information shared among multiple parties without any formal
trust mechanism. The following are some of the benefits that can be derived from the usage of
this system.
Provides Transparency
Any user with the required digital codes to access the network and the system can view the
chain of transactions made and recorded in real time. The potential impact of this will be that
any kind of monetary transactions can be recorded and tracked more effectively.
Provides Immutability
Data once entered into the blockchain system cannot be tampered with, without letting the
blockchain system know. This immutability will thus help in protecting valuable information
involved in land title registrations as well as voting matters in election polls.

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 Reduces counterparty risks and eventually payment costs as well
Banks often take high processing fees for enabling cross border transactions, besides the
processing time being slow. Blockchains, on the other hand, will allow anyone to send money
anyone else in the world without an expensive or possibly fraudulent intermediary. The smart
contracts of blockchain ensure that a contract is satisfied as soon as a particular action has been
completed. Thus, doing away with intermediaries lowers counterparty risk and cost, both.
Provides efficiency in provisioning of identities
Blockchains have the ability to manage and create identities in a secured way, for people at
reduced costs. Because of this, the unbanked population can get access to services they did not
get before.

FIGURE NO.: 3

OTHER BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY AND ENSURING TRUST BETWEEN

PARTIES

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2.4 Disadvantages:
This technology works much better under certain circumstances compared to others and it is
important to understand in which situations it will work best. Hence, following very obvious
disadvantages of the blockchain technology must be considered because that will help
organisations around the world take more informed and wise steps in implementing the same.
Slower Process
Blockchains can sometime prove to be a slow process in case there are too many users on the
network.
High Energy Consumption
The consumption of extremely high amounts of energy- sometimes more annual energy than
an entire country. This is what makes certain uses of the blockchain not very sustainable options
for the real world. However, not all blockchains are susceptible to this problem.
High Cost
The underlying cost of implementing blockchain is huge. They require significant investments
by the organisations willing to implement them. Costs are also involved in hiring teams
efficient in data management over the technology and people who have significant knowledge
and expertise in this field. Training costs to train the rest of the employees involved, is also
another expensive factor.
Still Mature
As mentioned earlier, the blockchain technology is still young and at a mature stage. It is only
a little above a decade old and is still evolving and research is still being conducted. Hence the
complete potential of the technology is yet to be excavated.
Immutability of Data
Data, once already entered into the system cannot be altered. This has been one of the biggest
advantages as well as disadvantages of this technology. Once the data is written into the system,
it cannot be removed bringing about transparency but also making it a problem in case of any
human faults or errors while entering the data.

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2.5 Risks:
With the advent of the new blockchain technology around the world, risk practitioners are very
excited about the potential of this technology to help organizations minimize or eliminate
different risks previously faced by them. However, the question that comes up is that with the
implementation of the blockchain technology, are the organisations exposing themselves to
new risks? The following are the few risks involved in the implementation of the blockchain
technology.
Strategic risk
Here, the firms need to decide whether they want to wait for the technology to mature and then
adopt it or be at the lead compared to other similar organizations. Since blockchain is a peer-
to-peer technology, the entities must ensure that they are participating in the right network,
otherwise it could hamper their business strategy. The organizations must also choose the
underlying platform wisely because it could pose certain threats to the services/products
delivered through this system.

Risk of business continuity

The businesses built on blockchains may be exposed to operational and technological
failures as well as cyber-attacks. Because of these reasons, businesses are required have a
governance framework and robust business continuity plan, which will help eliminate such
risks. Because transactions settled on a blockchain are near real time, such may reduce the
duration of many business processes and hence business continuity plans should account for a
shorter incident response and recovery time.

Reputational risk
Failure to integrate the blockchain technology with the legacy infrastructure may result
in poor client experience and regulatory issues as blockchain is a part of the core
infrastructure.

Risk of information security

Blockchain is susceptible to be exposed to cyber security risks in case a participant with a mal-
intent takes over more than 50% of the blockchain network nodes. This is especially in the case
of a closed permissioned framework.

Risks involved in making contractual agreements

In case of firms implementing the blockchain technology, there may be several service level
agreements (SLAs) between the participating nodes and the administrator of the network
besides the SLAs with the service providers. These need to be constantly monitored for
compliance requirements.

Third-party risks
The different firms depending on blockchain technology will likely be exposed to certain third-
party risks in case most of this technology is outsourced from external vendors.

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 3. ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
3.1 Overall global trends of blockchain usage:

Global economic potential by 2025 (in US$

54, 3%
bn)

224, 13%

Tracking and tracing

Payments and Financial services

962, 58% Identity Management

433, 26%
Contracts and dispute

The following are representations of the research done on FIGURE NO.: 4

193 organizations, initiatives and projects that have been
leveraging blockchain to promote social impact.

FIGURE NO.: 5

A SURGE IN THE NEW PROJECTS AND PLATFORMS ORIENTED TOWARDS THE USE OF BLOCKCHAIN BEGAN IN 2013

In the above graph, a steady surge from 2013 can be seen which later grows at an accelerating
pace.

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 FIGURE NO.: 6

BLOCKCHAIN ENABLES
SOLUTIONS NOT
14% PREVIOUSLY POSSIBLE

(As a % of catalogued
initiatives)
20%

66%

As per -
66%: Blockchain is an improvement over other possible solutions to various problems.
20%: Blockchain has proved to be a necessity for solving their problems.
14%: Blockchain definitely provides a way to solve problems but there, maybe other possible
solutions as well.

FIGURE NO.: 7

INITIATIVES TAKEN IN
DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES.

THE MOST NUMBER OF

INITIATIVES TAKEN IN
THE HEALTH SECTOR.

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 FIGURE NO.: 8

PRIMARY WAYS
OF BLOCKCHAIN
USAGE:
RECORDING AND
VERIFICATION
BEING THE
MOSTLY USED.

FIGURE NO.: 9

PRIMARY BENEFITS
RECEIVED ON USING
BLOCKCHAIN MAPPED IN
ORDER OF HIGHEST
MEASURE OF ADVANTAGE
RECEIVED TO THE LOWEST
BEING UNKWON AND
OTHER SOURCES.

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FIGURE NO.: 10

DIFFERENT
BLOCKCHAIN
IMPLEMENTING
ORGANIZATION
TYPES IN ORDER OF
THEIR HIGHEST TO
LOWEST
PERCENTAGE.

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3.2 Case Studies:
3.2.1 AGRICULTURE

Key Industrial findings:

❖ Agricultural programs of small and pilot scale are occurring in at least 13 countries.
❖ 75% of the applications in this sector that have moved beyond the idea stage are for
profit.
❖ Blockchain solutions in agriculture are aimed at reducing food fraud, contamination
and increase transparency. Companies who are driven by profit motive have been
estimated to drive 60% of agricultural applications through blockchain, globally.

Case study: Bext360

Year Founded: 2015
Stage: Pilot
Model: For Profit
Application: Supply Chain Management

Problem: Almost 80% of the coffee around the world is produced by as many as 25 million
farmers and yet they remain below the international poverty line. This is because they only
earn about $2 per day and sometimes, they do not even receive their payments
immediately. Another problem is that they are paid based on the quantity and quality of their
production. On the other hand, the consumers also wish to know where their food products
come from.

Solution: Bext360 has come up with an innovated device by combing the best features
blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning. This device analyzes the
quality of the coffee beans, offers a price and through smart contracts, the coffee cultivators
are instantly paid off without causing them any delay. The coffee beans are also tracked
throughout their entire process of being ready for sale. Such tracking enables the device to let
the customers know all the answers to their coffee related questions. Bext360 is thus bringing
solutions to both the farmers and the end consumers, alike.

This project is reaching out to hundreds of farmers in the countries of

Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Colombia, Uganda and other coffee producing countries.

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3.2.2 DIGITAL IDENTITY

Key Industrial Findings:

❖ The two most important benefits of a blockchain in digital identity are the reduction of
fraud or increase in transparency and efficiency.
❖ Blockchain security and tracking help emerging economies eliminate issues related to
identity.
❖ Digital identity based on blockchain technology is an application used globally which
has a high impact.

Case study: AID:Tech

Year Founded: 2015
Stage: Program
Model: Non-Profit
Application: Digital Identity

Problem: Although the unbanked population around the world receives various kinds of
donations and charity offerings, such aid is not permanent. Some of the money received
through such sources also get lost in transit because of the corrupted middlemen involved.

Solution: An Ireland based technology firm, AID:Tech, created a blockchain based platform
which helped NGOs and other non-profit aid distribution agencies to provide non forgeable
identities and track their expenditures in terms of the money donated. They distributed about
500 Donor Aid Cards linked to the blockchain system which prevented fraudulent tampering
of the donation money.

In the year, 2015, this project has been successful in extending help to the Syrian refugees and
tracking the same.

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3.2.3 DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE

Key Industrial Findings:

❖ Government programs have been looking at blockchain as a possible solution since
2008 for social causes.
❖ The number of initiatives taken in this sector for profit purposes is less than half the
number of initiatives taken in other sectors.
❖ This is one of the biggest sectors for blockchain application and the range of usage
varies from voting to crowdfunding as well as citizen participation.

Case study: e-Estonia

Year Founded: 2008
Stage: Operating since 2008, with 1000+ e-services
Model: Government
Application: Records and Verification

Problem: Since 2001, the Estonian government has wanted to make its services available to
its citizens online. Slowly, as the transactions and services increased, the need for greater data
integrity and security arose, apart from the additional new services provided. Therefore, in
2008, Guardtime received the contract from the government to take care of the vital public
information.

Solution: In 2012, Guardtime came up with a fully secured system via which Estonian citizens
could make and track all their government related transactions. The e-Estonia system
maintains an audit log in the citizens’ names which they could access through the state
government portal. Although the personal information of the citizens is used, it is not directly
stored in the system- only the transaction proofs of the citizens remain recorded as immutable,
unchangeable data in this Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). 99% of the citizens are not
required to understand the system in depth for them to be able to operate it, as
per Guardtime. Today, 1000+ services are being provided via this platform. Plans are in the
process to take it a notch ahead by making the
actual blockchain registration directly available to the citizens.

With almost 99% of the country's government services available as e-services, Estonia is
probably the country which has the most advanced blockchain application initiative taken by
its government.

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3.2.4 FINANCIAL INCLUSION

Key Industrial Findings:

❖ The projects that use blockchain technology for bringing about financial inclusion,
reaching more people and bringing more unbanked population under the umbrella of
the financial services, is the primary benefit received.
❖ As for the World Bank survey of 2014, it is the inability of certain people to provide
proofs of their identities that render them unbanked.
❖ Financial inclusion can be brought about more effectively using blockchain
solutions because a lot of the challenges in this sector align with
the characteristic strengths of this technology.

Case study: Consuelo

Year Founded: 2014
Stage: Pilot
Model: For-Profit
Application: Payment of Micro Insurance Premiums

Problem: It is a common belief among people that insurance is related to very complicated
measures and procedures. To eliminate this notion, this project has been named ‘Consuelo’
which means ‘consolation’ in Spanish. The reason behind coming up with this project was to
bring as many people in Mexico as possible under the purview of health and life insurance
coverage.

Solution: The concept is to make the poor migrant workers pay small amounts of life and
health insurance premium via electronic mode. It will be also electronic verification enabled
and people will be able to make payments quickly. This project also aims at removing claim
adjusting middlemen and directly make the insurance plans available to the people. Here, the
people are not required to know about the intricacies of the functioning of the technology, they
are just required to enjoy the simpler versions of the insurance products made available to them.
Saldo is, however, doing its bit by working with the Mexican government to bring about
financial literacy among the underbanked or underserved communities so that they can then be
educated on more specific topics like blockchain.

The main advantage provided by Saldo is data integrity, i.e., the blockchain keeps the valuable
information of the people safe which is later used to verify their past transactions.

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3.2.5 LAND RIGHTS & OWNERSHIPS

Key Industrial Findings:

❖ The Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in this sector has been successful in
bringing about more transparency and efficiency in land registry and land
documentation which has ultimately led to the reduction of fraud and illegal ownership
or possession of land and property.
❖ As land registry is a government service, it is important that the government sector
takes initiative in improving this sector through blockchain technology adoption.
❖ Any blockchain based technology to improve recording of land ownership and tracking
of property transactions would bring about more transparency in the system than
any preexisting system.

Case study: Chromaway

Year Founded: 2014
Stage: Pilot
Model: For-Profit
Application: Records and Verification

Problem: In countries like India, it is very difficult to reduce fraud and corruption in relation
to land titles and land registrations. Chromaway, the Swedish based blockchain startup
company, works in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh to eliminate such problems related to
land disputes.

Solution: This blockchain based startup company enables the maintaining of land titles and
records the transactions of properties on a blockchain based system. In times of land disputes
this tracking of land transfers and land ownerships could prove effective as proof which courts
could then investigate and use for reference purposes. This blockchain enabled system can
work without a centralized infrastructure and provide opportunities for people in the rural areas
with only as much of an internet connection on their smartphones.

Such an empowerment is to be noted in terms of increased economic activity, besides the fall
in the number of court disputes over land, as well as a rise in the trust between the citizens of
a particular country and its land authorities.

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3.2.6 ENERGY, CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT

Key Industrial Findings:

❖ The motive behind most of the initiatives taken with the help of blockchain technology
in this sector is profit.
❖ While in the developed countries the initiatives are aimed at generating maximum
usage, the aim of the developing countries is to focus on the last mile energy delivery.
❖ Certain blockchain technologies use up massive amounts of energy themselves.

Case study: ME SOLshare

Year Founded: 2015
Stage: Program
Model: For Profit
Application: Platforms and Marketplaces

Problem: Majority of the population of the world may have access to electricity but it may
not always be reliable or clean. Sometimes fulfilling energy needs can get unaffordable for
certain families as well.

Solution: Decentralized trade of energy and payments is now possible through the usage of
blockchain technology. The mission of SOLshare is to make sure electricity reaches
the remotest of the regions in Bangladesh through solar panels. The ME SOLshare platform
is involved in the creation of a small energy grid which is local. This allows the households to
trade electricity with each other. The households can pay through tokens via their phones for
as much electricity as they need through the device called SOLBox and can also take
microcredits for the payment of the same for a time range between 24 months to 36 months.

10 microgrids have already been set up in Bangladesh. The mission, however, is to set up as
many as 10,000 microgrids by 2030 with the aim of reaching more than 1,000,000 users.

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3.3 Indian Scenario:
As per the latest reports, as on February 23rd, 2021, the State Bank of India has made a tie up
with JP Morgan, USA, to use its blockchain technology to speed up SBI's overseas
transactions. This will reduce SBI customers’ transaction costs and the time taken for making
payments can also be decreased from a fortnight to a few hours only - thus, making cross
border payments faster. The State Bank of India is the first bank in India to enter into such a
partnership with JP Morgan. The motive behind all of this is solely to enhance customer
service experience of the SBI clients.
India's think tank, NITI Aayog, has been working on India chain which is the country’s own
ambitious project aimed at developing a nationwide blockchain network.

Presently Operating
India is appearing to be a frontrunner among the other developing countries for adopting the
blockchain technology. Kavita Gupta, founding managing partner of Consensys Ventures,
which is the venture capital sector of ConsenSys – a blockchain software firm, said that her
firm was working in association with the NITI Aayog for implementation of blockchain in a
land tilting project. It is supposed to provide 2 main benefits-
• Tracking of all State level financial services on one platform to prevent corruption once
the records are entered so as to ensure the records are tamper-proof.
• Tracking of land ownership history over time and verify land tilting registration with
background checks on who actually paid the property taxes.
The social impact rendered by such projects is that the Indian North-Eastern states can use the
same to help the tribal population secure their land ownership titles.
The Mumbai Port Trust has shown savings of $18.2bn over 2 years by using blockchain
technology to track incoming shippers, shipments and ensuring shipping related payments
reach the right parties.

Potential Theoretical Application

Blockchain being a single source of truth can be used for authentication and verification of all
the transactions and data, produced by various government departments as well as other
authorized users. Based on this logic, the following is a potential theoretical application which
has not yet been tested/implemented.
❖ The blockchain system can be used to create and maintain a profile for each resident of
a country containing the identity details, banks accounts held, properties owned and
transferred down through succession, loans taken under different bank accounts, etc.
Once the data will be entered, it will be immutable and thus tamper-proof under the
blockchain system.
❖ However, the information entered must be correct and accurate as it will not be possible
to change it in the future, but only further details, transactions and other important

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 information can be added. These records can be used to keep track of land ownership
titles to avoid and resolve land disputes. Hence, the problems of non-existence or loss
of documents can be done away with as the records will be stored forever in the
blockchain system. Even the identity information can be stored in the same system to
avoid problems regarding that as well. Banks can use such a system to access previous
loans’ information granted to the respective people and can easily judge their
creditworthiness. This will bring about more transparency in every aspect possible.
❖ Most of the people are either still not aware of the usage of the blockchain technology
or think that its only use is in the cryptocurrency industry. Here, they do not need to
understand the complications and intricacies of the system. All they need to know is
that this system will keep their information safe and secure once entered so that they
can trust the process and make their lives simpler.
Blockchain is used in various ways all around the world and this system would only be a
conglomeration of a few of such uses based on the different advantages of this system. For
such a system to be more effective and stronger, other evolving technologies can be used like
artificial intelligence and the internet of things in combination with blockchain technology.

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4. RECOMMENDATIONS
In this new era of the blockchain technology rewiring the trade industry, firms need to decide
whether they want to wait for the technology to mature for their adoption or if they want to
emerge as leaders in this market.
❖ Businesses must understand that they should adopt this technology only when the
business actually requires it and not to lure investors because of the hype going around
about this technology. If they do decide to run a business based on the same, they must
be fast and agile to adopt it and keep pace with the regulatory compliances such that
they do not always break the regulations ending up in payment of fines and fees.
Adopters must also keep in mind that the technology is still at a very early stage of
evolution.

❖ In case companies are planning to implement this technology they must keep
a watch on the situation constantly and not wait. They must invest time in forming the
trustworthy technological decision that they take, keep a watch on the regulations and
the restrictions which will evolve along with the evolution of the new technology as
well as they can use the regulations already existing as guidelines for better
implementing the technology in their systems.

❖ Businesses must determine the rules of engagement between the different parties that
they agree to share the blockchain network with. Some of the respondents around the
world are designing their blockchains by dividing the system into
permissioned (restricted access), permissionless (open access) and hybrid (mix of
permissioned and permissionless). Along with this, organizations are also
recommended to make sure that they deal with the risks at an early stage and do not
make unnecessary delays. They must also consider the implications revolving around
the privacy offered by the system.

❖ Innovators and developers must ask themselves if the technology is right for
the business, they are planning to implement it in. If the project checks out at
least majority of the following criteria, then it would imply that blockchain could
be a possible solution for that deal. The criteria involve multiple parties sharing
data, updating data, requirements of verification, complexity provided by
intermediaries to the system, etc. Businesses are recommended to start small and then
scale out, to frame the problem at hand and the possible solution and lastly, the
technology will also require them to invest in and get used to new and innovative ways
of working.

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 STANDARDS & REGULATORY BARRIERS FIGURE NO.: 11
LOWER HIGHER
STRATEGIES FOR
LEADER CONVENER BLOCKCHAIN
Act now to establish Build alliances to IMPLEMENTATION
the industry shape blockchain BY
standard solutions ORGANISATIONS
HIGHER
Focus on use cases Focus on high-
with highest impact use cases
MARKET
potential value and that require broadly
DOMINANCE
network effects shared standards
ATTACKER FOLLOWER

LOWER Focus on disruptive Prepare to move

peer-to-peer use fast to adopt
cases emerging standards

In the above chart:

It has been considered that market dominance and standardization & regulatory barriers are the
two most important factors for determining the strategies which blockchain based companies
should take up.
Leaders
Since leaders are the dominant players with a high market dominance and
lower standard barriers, they must take advantage of the opportunity to set the industry
standards since they can pursue use cases with lesser regulatory requirements.
Conveners
Although they are having high market dominance, they also face greater regulatory
barriers and hence cannot direct the blockchain adoption alone. Rather they should place
themselves in a way from where they are able to shape the new blockchain standards. Example,
Toyota Research Institute set up the Blockchain Mobility Consortium with four global partners
to focus on the possible solutions of critical accelerators required for autonomous
vehicles, using the blockchain technology.
Followers
This can prove to be risky for certain businesses as even though a follower may be fast in its
actions, it might be blocked out of the initial consortium established during the initial
stages of development of this technology. However, this risk can be eliminated by joining
emerging and existing consortia early so that they are not left behind.
Attackers
Attackers are basically the entities which are new to the market. Mostly finance and insurance
businesses fall under this category. It is advised for them to seek transformative blockchain
solutions to reduce the intermediaries between the producers and the consumers compared
to the existing players in the market.

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 5. CONCLUSION

To sum it all up, blockchain offers immense potential. As per a survey conducted by Price
Waterhouse Coopers in 2018, about 10% to 20% of the global economic
infrastructure could be solely based on the blockchain ran technologies. It is often termed as
the next era of the Internet. In this project, it has been mentioned time and again that it is simply
a false notion that bitcoin and blockchain are one and the same- however, they are
not. Although it was the cryptocurrency, bitcoin which made blockchain technology
popular, it is simply a use case of the overall technology.

Even for countries who have banned the use of cryptocurrency like Turkey and India, they can
use the immense potential of the technology to contribute majorly to their economic
growth. The advantages that blockchain technology brings to the table are that of unadulterated
transparency, protection of data from fraud and tampering, maintaining records of transactions
one after the other chronologically, cost reduction as well as elimination of
intermediaries/middlemen in certain processes, among other advantages. However, just like
every coin has two sides, similarly blockchain is not perfect - it has its own
disadvantages besides posing new risks to organizations wanting to implement this
technology. Thus, it is the responsibility of the organizations to act fast and to decide whether
they want to be a part of this technological innovation, be it to compete against their
competitors or to come up with plausible solutions to various social problems.

For the adoption of this technology by any country, enough government support
and initiative are also required so that they can frame the regulatory and compliance barriers in
a way that this technology can be used both for the benefit of the citizens of that country and
the implementing organization. It is also the responsibility of the government to make sure that
the technology is not used for taking undue advantage of the unaware citizens. Blockchain has
been so far used in the fields of bringing about financial inclusion, providing government
services, protection of land rights, ensuring safety and security of valuable information,
provisioning of digital identity etc.

However, the technology is still at a young and budding stage as a lot of its potential is still left
to be discovered. Estimates say that by 2030, this technology could become capable of
generating as much as US$3 trillion every year in business value.

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 6. REFERENCES
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