3 Sectors Where Blockchain Could See Early Success

With blockchain taking the tech world by storm, a lot of entrepreneurs have been experimenting with how they can disrupt certain industries with their use of the popular technology. While a lot of people have been looking to become the first to market with their application, that also comes with a long wait period for development and onboarding. That’s why I’m presenting a few early use cases where blockchain might see early success. Check them out below:

Freelancing

If there’s one sector that could see some serious interest from early blockchain tech, it has to be freelancers. According to CNN, with the gig economy currently taking up 34 percent of the US workforce, a lot of people are shifting towards the independent route. And although most of those gigs are through massive startups like Lyft or Fiverr, many of the freelancers who are contracted for skills like design and photography are left not getting their fair share.

For a lot of freelancers, a common problem is that there are a lot of bad actors in the industry. For example, many freelancers agree to do graphic design gigs for 50 percent upfront and 50 percent when the job is complete. Let’s say that after the designer is finished, the person that hired them changes their mind about what they feel is a fair price and decides not to pay the remaining balance. The graphic designer has little resource; however, this is where the blockchain could make a significant impact.

By utilizing the structure of smart contracts via the blockchain, the graphic designer would automatically be paid out for completing the design, as long as the person who bought it approved. The buyer in this can only keep the design if they accept it, protecting both sides from a faulty deal. On companies like MarketWired, Aaron Kelly provides an automated contract service like this; don’t be surprised if more entrepreneurs develop and deploy a model before the end of the year.

eCommerce

Another industry that could see some significant impact from the blockchain is with eCommerce, which might be able to offer consumers more protection over their goods. As noted by Shopify, eCommerce will reach $4.5 trillion by 2021, which makes it a massive industry that’s only continually going to grow further. Whether it be offering the best K cups or boutique children’s clothing, the blockchain could automate a lot of products and services in eCommerce.

With eCommerce, a lot of the intermediaries and protocols that are costly to stores could eventually be cut down or out of the picture. This includes things like identity verification, as well as verification of funds in an account. Additionally, be creating decentralized ecosystems, brands and consumers can work together to establish a better price point, as well as potentially earn tokens or coins via a new mining process centered around promotion. All-in-all, while still early, this is an area where someone’s going to try and disrupt.

Real Estate

As a massive sector that many have a look towards the blockchain at helping tremendously, real estate is one field that could see some major disruption coming much sooner than you’d think. In fact, research into how blockchain might play a role in the real estate market has already been well on its way; for example, according to a study by Deloitte, 36 percent of respondents in the commercial real estate industry perceived efficiency as one of the primary reasons to use blockchain. And while that might be true as one use case, what’s the real expansion of blockchain and real estate truly worth?

When you break it down, the blockchain could infiltrate a lot of existing practices and services in real estate. There are ideas such as having an open network for bidding, giving developers all around to have an even playing field on contracts. Additionally, the sending of files could potentially be another great use for blockchain, as many of the information transferred around requires a safe and secure network. Finally, another great use that’s recently been in talks is selling shares of a building to multiple bidders, which some real estate groups have been experimenting with already.

While still in early development, real estate might become the frontrunner for blockchain tech, and should be something to be on the lookout for in the coming months. Because although widespread adoption will take some time in this regard, real estate could be the catalyst for a finding a use case for blockchain on a major scale. And after all, the unicorn industry is what everyone’s hoping to bank on, right?