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Blockchain Technologies: Larger-Profile Use Situations in the News and Other Alternative Use Situations | Polsinelli

ByEditor

Mar 17, 2023

Cryptocurrencies and non-fungible token (NFT) news headlines at present concentrate on the marketplace crash (sometimes framed as a crypto-winter or cryptoextinction), fraud and the collapse of many crypto exchange platforms — or the “wealth” becoming created or lost by way of cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Earlier, in 2021 and the extremely initially half of 2022, headlines had been focused on the meteoric rise in worth of cryptocurrencies, digital art marketed as NFTs, and platforms and exchanges that facilitated these transactions employing blockchain technologies. Searching for ahead to 2023 and beyond, further legislation and regulation, along with the enforcement of present laws and regulations, is inevitable in connection with these monetary, investment and otherwise speculative use situations relating to cryptocurrencies, NFTs and blockchain technologies.

On the other hand, the underlying blockchain technologies could be (and is becoming) applied for drastically significantly less headline-grabbing and a lot extra mundane, pragmatic and drastically significantly less speculative purposes, and these use situations should really actually not be confused with the use situations ordinarily noticed in headlines.

What the future holds for cryptocurrencies, NFTs and other comparable utilizes of blockchain technologies is hotly debated, and various males and girls have sturdy feelings about these developments — specifically about the worth of new currencies, NFTs and the like. On the other hand, regardless of one’s feelings and beliefs in this regard, we really feel everyone should really actually be conscious that the legal and enterprise enterprise dangers differ tremendously primarily based on the use case of the blockchain technologies. At its core, blockchain technologies is about securely recording and tracking transactions by means of a ledger that can then be applied for various nonspeculative purposes unrelated to cryptocurrencies or digital asset speculation, pretty a handful of of which are discussed below.

Alternative blockchain utilizes

  • Person details verification. The capacity to each and every protected and selfauthenticate details tends to make blockchain technologies a promising tool to help authenticate and validate who should really actually have access to private details, such as in connection with monetary, all round wellness care, travel and other data.
  • Welfare and government distributions. With access to self-authenticating, protected private details employing blockchain technologies, government distributions could be made a lot extra reliable and powerful. Eligible recipients can be verified and get access a lot extra readily, while ineligible applicants can be a lot extra readily identified.
  • All round wellness details. Well being-associated records could be accessed, with sensitive details kept a lot extra protected, by way of blockchain technologies applied to authenticate an individual’s identity. Insurance coverage coverage coverage could be a lot extra readily verified, administrative expenditures and lags could be decreased, and remedy could then be presented a lot extra straight away and price tag effectively.
  • Media royalties. Blockchain technologies can be applied to help authenticate who has rights relating to music and video downloads. In addition to mitigating piracy and unauthorized copying, views and playbacks could be a lot extra accurately logged. In addition, “smart contracts,” ordinarily linked with crypto and NFT transactions, could facilitate automatic royalty payments.
  • Give chain and logistics. By tracking shipments on a distributed ledger, various parties along a offer chain can access genuine-time and historical details about every single single shipment. Primarily simply because blockchain technologies could track the chain of ownership and transactions, the presence of counterfeit goods could be a lot extra readily identified and mitigated.
  • Loans and insurance coverage coverage administration. The use of blockchain authentication and linked smart contracts in lending and insurance coverage coverage could strengthen efficiency in connection with many administrative and processing activities, such as insurance coverage coverage documentation and coverage, liens, and collateral.
  • Legal principles to contemplate

    Blockchain is an fascinating, promising and reasonably protected technologies, but like most technologies, its use situations and how humans use (or abuse) it will have to have to be deemed when having into into transactions, contracts or relationships involving the blockchain. Practically nothing at all is fully safe or protected, nor is it definitely no cost from the human element at some level — such as error, omission or abuse. For instance, males and girls could effectively shed passwords or other credentials or new technologies could effectively arise, which could raise the potential for hacking and the circumvention of encryption mechanisms underlying the blockchain.

    Time-tested and easy enterprise enterprise, legal and contracting principles should really actually be kept in thoughts when pondering about the use of blockchain technologies, such as (1) counterparty and other due diligence and evaluation, (two) legal and regulatory compliance evaluation, and (3) robust and thoughtful contractual provisions and protections mostly primarily based on the nature of the use case and application, such as the allocation of dangers (no matter if recognized or unknown).

    If you are a vendor providing merchandise or options incorporating blockchain technologies, economical and appropriate disclaimers about the technologies and ancillary human elements should really actually exist in your contracts. Conversely, if you are a customer or buyer acquiring merchandise or options employing blockchain technologies, be realistic and cautious about the potential optimistic elements and make confident there are appropriate controls, safeguards, remedies and recourse that could be realistically enforced.

    Conclusion

    Just due to the reality cryptocurrencies and NFTs, which use blockchain technologies, have been in the news grabbing alarming headlines about potential fraud and massive monetary gains or losses, there are nonetheless other use situations and applications of blockchain technologies that, while possibly drastically significantly less glamorous or newsworthy, could effectively potentially be a lot extra profound and advantageous in day-to-day life in the future.

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