Anyone paying attention to the latest news from financial markets would agree that blockchain has been welcomed as the next “big thing” by many professionals due to the new opportunities it presents in terms of business scenarios.

​Blockchain comes second only to the invention of the web, experts claim, in its disruptive power which seems to be reshaping every aspect of human activity, spanning from business to law to entrepreneurship with society, at large, ending up being assimilated confirming that blockchain is a real game changer which, sooner or later, will revolutionize also the way we all think.

Finding its roots in the anarchic computing subculture that emerged in the aftermath of the 2008 global recession, researchers refer to the rise of Blockchain as the end of the managerial capitalism era since the decentralization it brings to the system will be able to resolve pertinent issues like the principal-agent dilemma which jeopardizes business performance.

The innovative nature of blockchain resides in the fact that it acts as a digital form of structuring data which enables the sharing of a digital ledger (book-of-records) across a verified computer network without the need for a central authority with transparency and trust being key to the functioning of the system it creates between peers.

Taking this into consideration, a number of organizations from a diverse range of industries such as media, tourism and healthcare as well as the legal sector are valuing it not only as a means to cut transaction costs but also to secure intellectual property or protect digital assets such as medical records which could increase the ease of saving the lives of patients on globally.

To put this in a social context, politicians are welcoming the technological foundation which underpins Bitcoin and other digital currencies as a means to give community centric policies more time in the spotlight by destroying old monopolies and creating opportunities for the masses thanks to its decentralized nature. In other words, blockchain seems to be a powerful way to engage people in playing a more significant role in society.

For example, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), refers to the ability of blockchain technology as a tool to help overcome corruption issues within centralized institutions. A Swiss entrepreneur, Daniel Gasteiger, co-founder of nexussquared — a Swiss business platform focusing on blockchain technology and its application to business, commenting on the matter said,” “In Honduras they have started a land title project to register land ownership using blockchain technology (..) it’s not corruptible. If you record something as your own, it’s not in danger of being revoked and ownership is not able to be taken away because it’s been recorded in the public eye on with immutable technology. This is a powerful way to engage people in becoming part of society in such an economic way!”

When it comes to the financial world, several labs are testing blockchain, consortiums like R3 or the Hyperledger Project are rapidly establishing a global presence to be reckoned with and regulators are becoming increasingly in favor of easing the adoption of the technology on a large scale. Furthermore, as the Financial Times reports insurance firms are teaming up to study the benefits of Blockchain alongside banks who are adopting blockchain for their mortgage valuation systems.

Moreover, bankers have discovered that the use of blockchain technology reduces cross-border transaction costs down to $1 from $25 but it also proves to be a valuable resource in fraud prevention and execution of monetary policy.

The World Bank contests that despite the fact that the proliferation of the internet has created one of the most educated generations in history, the shift to a decentralized network could limit the successful adoption of blockchain because it requires the buy-in of its users and operators. Keeping this in mind, researchers in alternative finance warn not to leave anyone behind due the possible long lasting negative effect.