Preview: Blockchain Consumerism

By Peter Firth 25 : 01 : 2016 Blockchain : Transparency : Provenance

Global – Still in its infancy, the blockchain has the potential to cut out financial institutions and third parties in the selling of goods and services.

The blockchain is a distributed database that is held across a network and stores data in blocks
Blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt the way that brands sell goods and services

At its base level, the blockchain is a database, but unlike other databases, its unique features make it immutable, highly secure and fully decentralised.

‘The blockchain is an enabling technology,’ explains Dan Burrus, futurist and founder of Burrus Research. ‘This means that you don’t need a third party any more. The network itself replaces the third-party institution. Therein lies the disruption. Whenever there is a third party involved to produce a transaction, the blockchain could replace it.’

We are beginning to see how companies are enabling brands to create a form of unprecedented transparency using blockchain technology. Verisart is one such company, which plans to enable artists and collectors to certify, verify and document their works without the need for a middle man.