Let’s talk today about some real-life applications of ethereum.
First of all, Ethereum is a huge platform that is used to build decentralized services, also called “dapps” (decentralized apps). However, just like a large container ship or an airplane, Ethereum also needs “fuel” to work. This fuel is called Ether and is traded publicly on several cryptocurrency exchanges.
So, very important, Ethereum is NOT the same as Ether. We wrote a very detailed post about that topic some while ago, just click here if you want to know more.
Anyways, now that you know that Ethereum is not the same as Ether, let’s talk about what it can be used for.
As mentioned before, Ethereum is a huge network. This network is formed of thousands of computers all around the world. This is also called a “decentralized network”. The main benefit of this is that the computers that form it cannot be shut down, or controlled, by a single entity.
And well, a secure and decentralized network has unlimited applications.
Ethereum can be used in health
Ethereum will completely revolutionize the health-care system. All hospitals around the world can store, access and share their patient’s records. This is a key factor in developing new vaccines for viral outbreaks, or even preventing them in the first hand. You can go to a doctor in Thailand for a check up when you are on holidays and to a hospital in New York when you are back home again, and both will have the same information about you.
But that’s not all. Remember the whole wearables craze a couple years ago? Well, like it or not, those devices are here to stay. Now imagine that the data your smart watch records every day are automatically shared with every hospital in the world. This way, patterns could be found in medical conditions like a heart attacks or strokes, and you could be warned even before it happens. Ethereum will make this possible, and possibly save YOUR life one day.
Security from hackers
The fact that there is no central server for a hacker to attack makes it a lot harder to break into, for example, a website and steal your personal information.
Transactions
The world’s economy is based on transactions… And Ethereum is going to change them forever. On Ethereum, so-called “smart contracts” can be made. These make it possible to exchange anything of value, completely risk-free. Instead of creating an old-school agreement on paper, the transaction is recorded in computer code. So imagine that instead of buying a photo from a platform like Shutterstock, you buy it directly from the photographer and initiate a contract with him/ her to buy the photo. This is made possible by the “If This Then That” (IFTTT) logic built deeply into Ethereum’s system.
So for example: If the buyer puts the money in an escrow account, the photo will be downloaded.
Privacy from third parties
You know that search engine that most of the world’s internet users use every single day? Yeah, the one with the capital “G”. Well, surprise surprise, the company collects your personal information and sells it to advertisers. And makes billions in profit every year in the process. Ethereum’s blockchain technology would make this data collection impossible. Actually, it does not make it impossible (Nothing is impossible :P), but it logs every time the search engine uses your data and makes those logs publicly available. Therefore, large corporations will have to be a lot more careful with what they do with our data if they don’t want their brand image to suffer.
Politics
The fact that you are reading this post means that you are a well-educated citizen, and you are very likely more intelligent than the average Joe. Therefore, it is also very likely that once every couple years (depending on what country you live in), you will register your vote for the political party you think should lead your country.
Although we are told that we live in a democracy, it wouldn’t be the first time that the results of the polls are altered…
This would be physically impossible with the implementation of ethereum since nobody has the complete control over the network and every change is logged and publicly visible. Therefore, ethereum will ensure a more transparent and fair democracy.
Self-driving cars
Google announced some months ago that it will start mass-producing its self-driving cars in mid-2020. This will completely revolutionize the way transport works. And yes, you guessed it, Ethereum gets its cut too.
The reason why self-driving cars are so much safer than a normal car is because they communicate between them. This communication occurs thousands of times faster than what a human could ever achieve by making the horn sound or pushing the breaks.
Storing data
Companies like Dropbox or Microsoft store huge amounts of data in so-called server farms. A server farm is basically a building where hundreds of servers are that are used to store information. The problem with server farms is that the company concentrates a large fraction of its storage capacity on a single location. Therefore, the company can suffer substantial losses if it is destroyed by a natural disaster or a terrorist attack.
The solution is a decentralized storage facility. In that case, information is not stored in a couple server farms in the US, but in hundreds (or even thousands!) of data centers all around the world. Until now this has not been possible because it is a big technological challenge to build a network that connects all those servers safely and enables a fast data-transfer. However, Ethereum is very likely to be the solution to this problem because it’s blockchain technology can be used to encrypt and quickly transfer data between millions of servers.
Gambling
The gambling industry in the US is estimated to be worth around 240 Billion USD, and it is one of the shadiest and fraudulent sectors of our economy. With the mainstream adoption of the internet in the late 90’s, the first online casinos started to appear. If even the “real-world” casinos have a lack of transparency, imagine the stuff that is going on in online gambling websites…
Anyways. As mentioned before, one of the core features of the Ethereum technology is that it can be used to do fast and safe transactions. This will completely disrupt the online casino industry and also give it a big push since players won’t have to fear scams anymore.
That’s all for today!
Stay awesome.