Beyond finance: the wider world of the blockchain

The blockchain is a constantly growing ecosystem with more use cases appearing every year. We all know of its ability to revolutionize how we use and interact with finance through crypto, cross-border transactions, and smart contracts, but from these foundational uses, there is a cascade of other, more unusual case studies that are perhaps not as obvious. However obscure, these are still expanding the landscape of blockchain and how we shape it. This blog takes a look at some newer, or simply less obvious, uses of the blockchain that have created interesting and innovative solutions for different industries.   
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Real estate

This certainly isn’t a new example of blockchain’s impact on an industry, as the blockchain has been shaping the way real estate works for years already. The blockchain has allowed for smoother, safer contract processes for property ownership, allowing almost all of the processes to be automatic. This automation of processes has also created a safer, more easily verifiable background-checking system. The parties involved can be identified safely and securely on the blockchain, and the contract can be accessed with a personal digital key, vastly reducing the likelihood of fraud. 

Land registry is also being improved by blockchain advances. The UK government created its ‘Digital Street’, a blockchain-based land registry of every property in the United Kingdom. Similar technology is being trialed in the UAE and Singapore.  
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Voting

Some voting authorities are looking into - or actively using - the blockchain to create fairer, safer voting systems. As a strong record-keeping platform with a high level of security, many nations have begun to turn to the blockchain as a way to assure the public that it has fair and safe elections. Some examples of nations with successful blockchain voting experience include Estonia, the United Arab Emirates, Sweden, and Georgia. In the United States, several states have trialed blockchain voting on a small scale. Most recently, Screven County in Georgia utilized blockchain voting for the 2024 Presidential election to ensure its results' validity and avoid the same disruptive allegations of miscounting and mishandling that happened in 2020.  
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Music royalties 

Blockchain technology offers a transparent and secure solution for managing music royalties. Artists often miss out on receiving fair and prompt payments, which can be avoided by utilizing the blockchain. Copyright and ownership can be stored safely and immutably on the blockchain, where they cannot be tampered with. Payment records are also safe, and instant payments go straight to the artist through smart contracts, cutting out many middlemen in the process.   
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Get married

There’s the sound of wedding bells on the blockchain. Couples can now register their marriage on the blockchain and say a digital ‘I do’. This has become particularly popular for couples who cannot - or cannot easily - marry in the real world. Although blockchain marriages are not legally binding and do not offer any rights or additional benefits that already exist (or don’t exist) in reality, it is still a symbolic move for couples that may not be able to affirm their love publicly. Several companies now offer different ways of marrying on the blockchain, whether that’s creating an NFT of your marriage certificate or just recording the marriage itself on the blockchain. 

The most famous example was done as an initiative of Swedish fashion brand Björn Borg. The company offered LGBTQ+ couples from around the world the chance to marry on their Marriage Unblocked digital platform - as same-sex marriages are still not legal in over 80% of the world.

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Blockchain’s expanding use

Although the blockchain is most commonly believed to be the heart of the financial landscape’s future, it is also the bedrock of any number of different industries. That is why the blockchain is so revolutionary: it does not exist solely in the realm of crypto and NFTs. After all, the blockchain touches on almost every industry that is digital or could become more digitized. 

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