Beyond Cryptocurrency: The Visual Guide to Blockchain [Infographic]
A little over a year ago, we wrote an article titled:”What is Blockchain.” In the article, we highlighted a report from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and how the hype surrounding the most disruptive technology of the decade. NIST is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce with a mission to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.
Everyone is talking about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. However, Blockchain, the underlying technology behind cyrptocurrency, may offer more potential and operational use cases. Since we first wrote the article, Blockchain has received more coverage and attention. According to a report from a research analyst at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), crypto and blockchain technology could unlock $10 trillion market. A lot has been written about blockchain technology. In a simple term, blockchain is a special type of a distributed ledger database. A distributed ledger is simply a database that exists across several locations or among multiple participants. A distributed ledger system allows organization of any chain of records or transactions without the need of intermediaries.
According to NIST report, “A blockchain is essentially a decentralized ledger that maintains transaction records on many computers simultaneously. Once a group, or block, of records is entered into the ledger, the block’s information is connected mathematically to other blocks, forming a chain of records. Because of this mathematical relationship, the information in a particular block cannot be altered without changing all subsequent blocks in the chain and creating a discrepancy that other record-keepers in the network would immediately notice. In this way, blockchain technology produces a dependable ledger without requiring record-keepers to know or trust one another, which eliminates the dangers that come with data being kept in a central location by a single owner.”
The report did a very good job in cutting through the hypes and provides a more technical explanation of what Blockchain is. However, the report may be too complex for non-technical people. That’s why we are excited to share with you an infographic from BreadnBeyond, an explainer video company that provides one of the best explainer videos handcrafted by expert artists, that creates animated explainer videos to help startups and businesses grow in the fierce competition. Enjoy!
How Does the Blockchain Work?
Blockchain processes transaction requests by broadcasting it to a peer-to-peer (P2P) network made up of computers known as nodes. The nodes will verify and record the transaction — this can be in the form of cryptocurrency transaction, records, contracts, or other information.
Once the transaction is verified, the nodes create a new block of information to be added to the blockchain.The new block that was just created is added to the existing blockchain — at this point, the new block can’t be tampered with anymore and the transaction is complete.
Blockchain Implementations
Here is a list of startups and companies who use blockchain technology as the foundation for their products.
Blockchain Trading Platforms
Blockchain helps trading platforms to improve their security and reduce costs which are otherwise necessary, like server maintenance.
Examples of blockchain-based trading platforms:
- Trade.io
- Ricex.io
- WeTrade
- Binance
Blockchain Based Logistics and Transport
Since the data in a blockchain can’t be altered or lost easily, it’s more efficient to track the supply chain and transport history.
Examples of blockchain-based logistics and transportation platforms:
- CargoConX
- MOVA
- Arcade City
Blockchain Based Healthcare Companies
The healthcare industry uses Blockchain-based technology to digitize and share access to health records in order to improve inter-facility treatment for patients.
Examples of blockchain-based healthcare apps:
- Finalytics
- Medicalchain
- Nebula Genomics
Blockchain Based Payment Gateways
Payment gateways were definitely one of the first industries that bloomed rapidly along with the popularity of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Examples of blockchain-based payment gateways:
- Bitpay
- CoinBase
- CoinGate
How Blockchain Startups Breach the Market
The blockchain is an awesome invention, but it isn’t really well-introduced to the world. Even the inventor’s real identity is unknown!
The limited understanding from the general public about blockchain is one of the problems that cause many blockchain startups to disband. The blockchain is already a complicated invention as it is. It is often the case that such a complex subject overwhelms people and discourages them from trying out a new product.
Educative visual content such as infographics and explainer videos are super effective at breaking down complicated subjects like blockchain into bite-sized pieces of information.
- Approximately 65 percent of the population are visual learners. By using an explainer video for blockchain startups, you can communicate your idea better to your audience.
- 90 percent of all the information transmitted to our brains is visual – this means that our brain is more used to receiving information that’s tied to an illustration.
- We are able to grasp a visual scene in less than 1/10th of a second. Compared to reading an entire blog post about blockchain, a 1-minute explainer video should be more than enough to introduce the concept to your audience.
- Visual aids in the classroom improve learning by up to 400 percent. Videos and infographics can definitely help your audience understand blockchain.
The Infographic for Blockchain Startups
Below is an infographic on why blockchain is future-proof technology that can be applied beyond cryptocurrencies as it’s famous for. You will also learn everything you need to know about the mysterious invention. With this infographic, you can learn how blockchain startups should overcome their marketing problems: