Miguel Peco Perea, Director of Business Development at Blocknitive, has shared with Cointelegraph en Español an article where he seeks to explain why cryptocurrencies are, in reality, for him, a small portion of what blockchain networks can offer the world in general.
In this sense, Perea has said that the popularity of cryptocurrencies, which use blockchain networks for their operation, has engulfed the very concept and utility of these networks. In his opinion, cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, are well known for various reasons. And much is said about the blockchain as the basis on which they are developed.
What is a Blockchain network?
According to Perea, a blockchain network is the basis that really marks this technology (cryptocurrencies) as one of the most important in the short, medium and long term.
For him It stands out mainly for its security. “It stores data that can be replicated by different participants in this network, with the certainty that the records made are true, durable and immutable. This is because they are guaranteed by full mathematical formulas and cryptography.”he explained.
That said, he has commented that the security and certainty that what is “written down” is true, is the key. “It is therefore a decentralized database, based on consensus protocols, allowing all those involved to trust and audit the information recorded in real time”Perea added.
Advantages of this type of network
Regarding advantages, Perea has said that security stands out, because it is key to mark the traceability of certain operations, with the usefulness and authority at the monitoring level that this can have for companies. In addition, he has added different points, which he considers as advantages for blockchain networks.
1. Cost reduction (because it tends to digitize and automate processes).
two. Limit human errors.
3. Eliminate intermediaries (no one has to certify operations, since the data is immutable and accessible to the entire network).
Four. Faster operations. No one has to mediate for such an operation to take place.
5. Transparency and traceability. The path of the operation is always traceable and visible. It is based on a chain of blocks, where the previous block is linked to its immediate ones, so that obtaining the history is fast, 100% reliable and accessible.
Types of Blockchain networks
In this classification, Perea has pointed out the different types of blockchain networks depending on who accesses them:
1. Public. All users assume the established protocol, by which anyone can record transactions in the database.
two. Private. Focused on regulated sectors whose data should not be publicly accessible, for legal reasons, for example. Access restriction is allowed, although it can be differentiated between user profiles that can simply register versus those that can only consult the registers.
3. Mixed. network that shares the philosophy of the previous two.
Applications of this technology
For Perea, those who have not yet had contact with blockchain technology may not clearly identify its enormous and interesting applications.
In this regard, he highlighted that All those operations that require traceability, data storage and shared access to them and whose participants do not necessarily have to maintain a relationship would be likely to use this technology.
“In the financial field, for example, these issues commonly occur in a simple transaction between two people. Issue that today is mediated by entities, which are in charge of guarding and tracing the operations, a fact that a blockchain network would cover by itself”, Perea said.
“But beyond an alternative payment system we have many other options. For example, regarding the consent and treatment of the use of personal data. The management of these consents and the traceability in the use of this data can be executed in a more secure and economical way in a blockchain network, allowing companies to show all the transparency that their clients demand more and more every day”he added.
“Its potential to ‘measure’ the traceability of processes and products in a completely safe way is another of the most ‘squeezable’ uses by companies. For example, in the field of food, it allows consumers to know the origin of the products that are going to be purchased”he added.
Also, Perea clarified that all this can be done quickly and reducing the costs and time that the business invests in the registration of these ‘steps’.
“Protecting yourself, for example, from imitations or lower quality products. Maintaining control in real time of the supply, and certifying each of the ‘processes’ to which a product has been subjected to, from the time it leaves its origin until it is purchased by the consumer in a linear of a Supermarket”, he explained.
An example of use
To detail the application of blockchain technology in different sectors, Perea shared one more example where several companies that would integrate part of a network would represent a perfect use case.
A pharmaceutical company produces vaccines that are recorded in batch numbers and production date. This company also records the date of shipment to the warehouse.
The warehouse registers the date and batch number that has been received, the temperature control and exit from the warehouse to the distributor.
The distributor records the collection of vaccines by collection date and lots. It records the temperature control and the date and number of batches delivered to a health center.
The health center records the dates and number of batches received and what was finally used.
Lastly, it should be noted that For Perea, the first element that blockchain would provide would be the traceability of the entire process, converting everything in real time in a more efficient, secure, and completely digitized way.
“The Health Center cannot add a batch number to the chain that the other parties have not been registering. The data is shared by the participants in the process with permissions and access (in this case the participating companies)”he concluded.
Disclaimer: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information set forth herein should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
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