After the blockchain hype has subsided, the question arises as to which use cases for blockchain are conceivable for our society. Below we present a possible use case.
If you currently buy a product, you have no insight into where the goods really come from, which steps they have gone through and how (or when) they came into the market. In the past, these value chains and supply chains were more nationally restricted, but in times of globalization they have become longer and more opaque.
Transparency through tracking
It is these lack of transparency that often make consumers despair. With its smart contracts and counterfeit protection, the blockchain offers an instrument to ensure this transparency. But how? Each processing step of a product can be mapped and confirmed on the blockchain. All entries created in the following steps confirm the previous steps and simply add another entry on the blockchain. This means that every service provider (generally an actor) is forced to confirm receipt of the goods, carry out his work and is also obliged to leave an entry on the blockchain when the goods leave. What sounds like a lot of work here will happen automatically in practice and will be handled using technologies such as QR codes or scanners. As a rule, not every single unit is recorded for large quantities of a product, but only the delivery (or batch) to which the product belongs.
Democratization of the value chains
For the first time, this gives consumers the insight they need to make an informed purchase decision. In the future, this information will be found on foods, for example. With the help of an app you can get information about the goods. However, this solution of the goods on the blockchain offers further advantages. For example, faulty goods can be traced faster and a more targeted recall process can be started.
In her book Token Economy, Shermin Voshmgir describes in great detail what the blockchain actually is, how tokens will be designed in the future and what use cases exist for these tokens. It highlights both the development of tokens on the blockchain to date and the future economy that can arise around these tokens.