When businesses latch onto a buzzword, it quickly becomes the solution to everything. Not long ago, in the era of “big data,” companies scrambled to add chief data scientists to their ranks. Before that, vendors of all manner touted their innovative social, local, mobile solutions (or SoLoMo, in industry parlance). Lately, corporations have been talking nonstop—on conference panels, in TED Talks, in pitchdecks—about artificial intelligence.

But in this moment, few business trends can compete with the magic of blockchain technology. Blockchains, which use advanced cryptography to store information across networks of computers, could eliminate the need for trusted third parties, like banks, in transactions, legal agreements, and other contracts. The most ardent blockchain-heads believe it has the power to reshape the global financial system, and possibly even the internet as we know it.

Now, as the technology expands from a fringe hacker toy to legitimate business applications, opportunists have flooded the field. Some of the seekers are mercenaries pitching shady or fraudulent tokens, others are businesses looking to cash in on a hot trend, and still others are true believers in the revolutionary and disruptive powers of distributed networks.

LEARN MORE The WIRED Guide to the Blockchain

Mentions of blockchains and digital currencies on corporate earnings calls doubled in 2017 over the year prior, according to Fortune. Last week at Consensus, the country’s largest blockchain conference, 100 sponsors, including top corporate consulting firms and law firms, hawked their wares.

Now, seemingly every problem in the world can be solved by applying the blockchain. Poverty! Censorship! Endangered species! The rush of new entrants has spawned skepticism even among crypto enthusiasts. On stage at Consensus, Blockchain Capital partner Jimmy Song made waves declaring that "blockchain is not this magical thing where you sprinkle blockchain dust over a problem.”

Nonetheless, entrepreneurs—and promoters—are sprinkling it widely. Here is a noncomprehensive list of the ways blockchain promoters say they will change the world. They run the spectrum from industry-specific (a blockchain project designed to increase blockchain adoption) to global ambitions (fixing the global supply chain’s apparent $9 trillion cash flow issue). We’ve tried to stick as closely to their pitch language as possible and have linked to some projects, but are not endorsing any.

Things Blockchain Technology Will Fix

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