by Sam Bocetta, Free Market Shooter
The secure ledger technology of the blockchain is something that has been hotly debated by financial experts and prognosticators alike. Some predict that blockchain firms will fail while others are of the mind that crypto investing in the blockchain will be the best path going forward for all investors.
As digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have grown in popularity, we have been left with no choice but to educate ourselves about the blockchain tech on which such currencies rely. And what we’ve learned is that this ledger technology has the potential to change the infrastructure of the entire world.
As banks and other financial sectors begin to explore the benefits and many uses of the blockchain, many workers are concerned about losing their jobs. To many hard-working individuals, blockchain tech represents a threat to their livelihood.
Among those who could suffer from blockchain integration include those who process and reconcile transactions, and those who verify documentation. Why? Because articles recorded in the blockchain can never be erased and are confirmed internally.
While it is unequivocal that certain jobs could be lost to the blockchain, there are plenty of others that wouldn’t be affected by it at all. For example, auditors and agents will still be needed to check the veracity of the entries recorded in the blockchain only decentralizes the verification of the order of the entries in the ledger.
Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that blockchain tech could create jobs. One industry that will doubtlessly play a pivotal role in blockchain tech is security. New breakthroughs in encryption technology and identity protection will be imperative for blockchain tech to thrive.
Blockchain technology will prove beneficial to all of us in the long run, but here’s looking at a few industries that are bound to be disrupted by the blockchain and why.
Accounting
Although there could still be a need for auditing in many industries utilizing blockchain tech, the reality is that protocols like Quantstamp (QSP) and other financial platforms like PayPie (PPP) and Populous (PPT) will permanently alter the accounting landscape.
These solutions and the structure of the blockchain itself will render professions like accounting and auditing obsolete, at least in the traditional sense. There will be no need for accounting firms because all audits and accounting will be performed on the public shared ledger.
We’ve already gotten a glimpse at this with PPP and PPT. PPP is the world’s first credit risk assessment based on blockchain accounting. Its risk score algorithm operates in the exact same way as standard business accounting, only it applies that formula to the blockchain.
It’s kind of like having your own robot to pick out your clothes in the morning and make you breakfast. Why hire an accountant when a web platform can do it for you?
Alternately, PPT is reshaping invoice financing across each block of the blockchain, effectively changing the way that sellers grow their business and receive cash flow. And they’ve shown buyers how to make money buying invoices that earn an interest rate.
Blockchain technology will make brick-and-mortar accounting seem arbitrary since all content in the blockchain will be able to be monitored remotely, from anywhere.
Human Resources (HR)
HR, hiring and jobs will all be irrevocably changed by the blockchain. One of the latest additions to the blockchain ecosystem is Moonlight, a decentralized workforce platform that will likely leave sites like Monster, Indeed and CareerBuilder in its wake.
Moonlight is poised to locate resources for projects within the blockchain space, helping users to find people with the skills they are looking for. A matchmaking search function will assist users in determining the validity of the talent’s supposed qualifications, thereby streamlining the hiring process.
Other blockchain-based systems like EchoLink provide users with verified education and work experience information. Drawing on blockchain tech’s immutability, EchoLink is able to compile relevant info from educational and training institutions without it being altered by third parties.
All work data is time stamped, establishing a chain of evidence, and the system can be used in a multitude of areas besides HR and the like. It is a worthy tool for notaries, financial firms and banking institutions, amongst others.
ECommerce and Advertising
The world of eCommerce is about to get a shot in the arm thanks to the newly-minted Knowledge.io, a platform where users can earn “Knowledge tokens” by participating in the site’s activities. These tokens can then be spent on products from Knowledge’s marketplace. These same users—employers, educators and advocates—can value and exchange knowledge via voluntary and/or gamified interactions.
Knowledge.io will also alter the advertising industry since ad agencies can use their tokens to pay for advertising on the platform and monitor the progression of Knowledge Scores to get a better idea of how to communicate with their target audience. What’s more, users can serve as brand ambassadors by creating content for these products. A network is formed between advertisers and sellers since eCommerce stores and their products are linked to ad campaigns on the platform. In this way, the Knowledge.io connects advertisers with sellers without the use of a third party, and without participants needing to rely on cumbersome tools to protect their privacy.
Knowledge has forged a relationship with several merchants and will be featuring no less than 300,000 products. Expect this one to get a lot of buzz in the months to come.
The “Internet of Things” (IoT)
Blockchain tech is expected to play an instrumental role in the future of IoT as more and more Smart devices are designed to communicate with each other online. Samsung and IBM have already begun R & D to build a decentralized network of IoT devices via blockchain.
Blockchain can address practical issues of IoT technology in the areas of scalability, time stamping, records, privacy, transparency and dependability. It would provide a fundamental framework for two devices to transfer a piece of property directly without third party involvement or interference.
Blockchain’s encryption model could protect against data tampering while its decentralization would better suit devices that are vulnerable to botnet. It could deliver full device authentication, control, autonomy and security.
Conclusion
These are but five of the sundry industries that are likely to be affected as blockchain technology is adapted by a growing number of diverse businesses. This may not sit well with some of us now, but as Bitcoin and its underlying encryption become topics of everyday dinner table conversation, blockchain feels more like the next evolutionary step in the digital ecosystem and one that will solve a lot of bedrock problems and inefficiencies.
