It’s no secret that it took the blockchain a long time to get to its current state of “acceptance.” That is, if you define acceptance as being scrutinized day after day by both the media and politicians - who are always proposing additional levels of regulation - then yes, you could say the blockchain has been “accepted.” This isn’t even referring to the initial cases associated with early adopters. From the “Silk Road” fiasco, to the colossal scheme of scams effectuated during the Initial Coin Offering boom of 2017-2018, blockchain technology has certainly provided incubation for illicit activities. To deny that is simply naive. At the same time, to reduce the potential of blockchain technology to its past use cases is ignorant. 

Nowadays, it's becoming increasingly clear that the blockchain has long outgrown its reputation. It underwent perhaps one of the most successful rebrandings of our time, now providing a steady flow of modern products for today’s inefficient trust institutions. The use of the blockchain is now that of  a business solution, one which streamlines processes while improving the transparency of various operations. This is the keystone which has funneled  its growing adoption in various sectors of the global economy.

Fiat Alternative

Bitcoin was initially released as an alternative for state-controlled fiat assets; it was meant to be a form of digital cash. The core use case for Bitcoin was its application as a universally accepted financial instrument that could be used on par with conventional money in a digital economy. The legitimacy of the currency was reinforced by other virtues native to the blockchain, such as speed of transaction processing, transparency and immutability of records, among others. Bitcoin thus became the first true cryptocurrency,  ushering in the concept of the blockchain into the world of finance, 

As the blockchain evolved, it became obvious that these same characteristics could be effectively applied in various businesses in order to improve efficiency and operational capacities by reducing costs and the waste of resources. 

Use Case Expansion

Many know that with decentralization comes the eventual independence from legal regulations and state control. This seems like an abstract idea at first, except when you realize that it’s already starting to happen. The blockchain has already begun to empower countless of developers, who continue to look forward towards a new digital world where they are liberated from having to abide by the strict guidelines of application functionality brought forth by our current web system. 

DeFi apps are a way in which individuals have begun taking true hold of their finances by “decentralizing” them (to different degrees). They are often seen as alternatives to the traditional banking system.

 DeFi apps, for example, normally utilize high APYs and a broad range of high risk instruments which allow users to generate passive income that oftentimes outstrips the interest of bank savings accounts.

Other alternatives for conventional means of expression and interaction have been developed and deployed in the form of Non-Fungible Tokens. The NFT phenomenon first took the digital art and entertainment industries by storm, and then continued through the luxury, collectibles, and gaming sectors. NFTs “guarantee” ownership rights via use of the immutable blockchain registry, presenting an alternative to the institution of ownership. At the same time, NFT holders can reap the rewards in the form of royalties from the resale of their assets on the secondary market, which arguiably circumvents the traditional legal process to prove rights.

Alternatives to traditional employment have also been  deployed on the blockchain as DAOs, or Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. As community-run organizations with no centralized governance, DAOs rely on community voting via native DAO tokens. Such organizations claim to do away with human error, corruption, voting manipulation, and other flaws that reduce the effectiveness of businesses and the trust which audiences have in them.

Blockchain-Based Business Future

Looking forward, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that the future of businesses will likely be based on the decentralized infrastructure of the blockchain. 

As a modern payment network, Embily will continue to utilize blockchain technology as its foundation for providing digital financial services. Whether it’s leveraging DAOs to improve customer experience through voting on various features, or using NFTs for ensuring ownership rights to client accounts, Embily will continue to explore and integrate various use cases as reflected in the growing experience of their global application

We believe that the potential of blockchain technology is still only just being explored, and we’ll continue to enthusiastically push for the broader adoption of decentralized solutions.

Read more about DeFi - https://eu.embily.com/blog/what-is-defi-2-0-and-how-does-it-differ-from-classical-defi

Get the Embily crypto debit card - https://app.embily.com/auth/check-country