Unlocking Blockchain's Cash Flow Potential

Blockchain is becoming widely known as the next big innovative technology, impacting the future of how we do business. The issue faced today is that the answer blockchain provides is still searching for problems to solve that customers are willing to pay for. Which problems will be most realistic and profitable to solve for blockchain?

As a game-changing technology that relies  on operating without a central authority, companies need to be clear on how they will leverage blockchain to add value and generate profits.  All types of industries (from online gaming to adult entertainment and art) are actively applying the new tech to existing business structures, but it’s unclear how they can actually monetize their efforts.  A developing stance in the blockchain community is for an enterprise to create a platform that is mostly decentralized, but contains a governance aspect that allows the ‘architect’ to collect fees.  

There are certain niche industry sectors showing the most promise in applying blockchain to a successful profit model: 

 > Property purchase / reservation - - Companies would use blockchain to act as an intermediary (escrow) agent between two parties, one looking to reserve / purchase a property and the other looking to lease / sell.    The purchaser would benefit from being able to make a trusted choice (in compliance with all local laws) on a property they may have never physically visited across the globe.  The seller can expand from a local to global customer base and be confident in a completed transaction with a true buyer and verified funds, without incurring large escrow fees.  

 > Advertising sector - - A firm creates a blockchain platform in which customers choose what ads they see, advertisers are clear on what ads reach customers (i.e. not worrying about ad blockers), and vendors are secure in gaining more high-potential clients from their ad spend.  This decentralized marketplace would help create engaging ads that customers are more likely to view, and more likely to make purchases after - - benefiting all three groups at a lower cost than today’s marketing options.

> Authentication  - - Products, especially high-end luxury goods, can be securely ‘tagged’ in an effort to avoid fake or counterfeit items that ruin company brands or lead to scams in secondary resell markets.  Makers of the products will be able to maintain a digital certification that existing and potential purchasers can verify online.  The viewable records would be kept in the blockchain to avoid future fraudulent tampering.

Overall, blockchain’s immense potential and growing popularity is beginning to manifest itself in the form of viable business models.  Which industries and companies will lead the way in this movement is still unknown.  What is definitely clear is that the huge volume of projects and initiatives today will all be tested this year and the field will begin to narrow by the end of 2018.

 Thanks for reading!  Here are some other articles on blockchain for you to check out.