The first Bitcoin transaction took place on January 12, 2009 at a price of approximately $0.0008 per Bitcoin. Since then, Bitcoin has reached an all-time high price just under $65K on April 14, 2021 and thousands of other crypto currencies have been introduced to the market. While the Crypto industry may still be in its infancy, the core Blockchain technology is already providing use cases for many industries and business functions such as smart contracts.
Blockchain is the record-keeping database behind the various crypto currency networks. Data entering the Blockchain are stored in blocks and chained to the existing blocks, which keeps these data in chronological order and secure. Data entering a decentralized blockchain are permanently recorded, validated by multiple independent parties on the network, viewable to anyone, and irreversible. Although Blockchain transactions are recorded permanently and viewable to anyone, the identity of the parties involved in the transaction remains anonymous.
Crypto currencies such Uniswap and Chainlink are associated with purpose-built tools used in the crypto space. Buying these tokens are like buying a share of stock in a company rather than Bitcoin, which does not support a specific technology solution and only functions as a digital currency.
Smart Contracts commonly are built into the Blockchain network. A Smart Contract is a self-executing contract application with the agreement terms between the buyer and seller written directly into the code. Once a Smart Contract is deployed onto the Blockchain, it cannot be edited and does not require a centralized authority to administer any function of the Smart Contract. This allows fast, secure, and anonymous transactions between parties.
Chainlink’s decentralized oracle network provides reliable, secure inputs and outputs for complex smart contracts on any blockchain. This technology streamlines various functions of the real estate industry. Property prices, rental rates, regional trends, and predictive pricing models are stored within the Smart Contract application, giving the users proof and assurance of the data’s integrity. Real estate purchasing and rental agreements executed using these Smart Contracts reduce intermediaries and inefficiencies in the industry.
The security and lack of authority control of decentralized finance has been very appealing to the early adopters of crypto currency investing. Earlier this year, we saw a situation with Game Stop stock where the centralized U.S. stock exchange manipulated trading to better suit the interests of one party over another. Decentralized exchanges, such as Uniswap, rely fully on Smart Contracts to operate, allowing users to be in full control of their assets. In April 2021, The European Investment Bank, which serves as the lending arm of the European Union, issued a 2-year digital bond on the Ethereum network where investors can purchase and pay for the security token using traditional fiat currency.
The technology driving the crypto currency industry has many real-world use cases. Many inefficiencies, security issues, and data integrity concerns we face in various industries can be solved using Blockchain and Smart Contracts technology. The world has already seen this technology put to good use and solve a variety of business problems and remember, this is just the beginning!
For more information, contact Clearview Group's subject matter experts.
By: Senior Consultant, MATTHEW PALSGROVE
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