Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies is Changing the World

by Don Tapscott

Redesigning and automating processes across peer-to-peer networks, rather than through people or centralized intermediary apps, could bring numerous benefits as already identified including: Speed (end-to-end automation) Reduced costs (associated with sending nearly infinite amounts of data to giant central processing facilities; elimination of expensive intermediaries) Increased revenue, efficiency, and/or productivity (freeing up excess capacity for reuse) Improved effectiveness (built-in checklists and other protocols reduce impact of human error) Increased security and integrity (person-to-person trust is not required as trust is designed into the network architecture) Reduced likelihood of system failure (elimination of bottlenecks, built-in resiliency) Reduced energy consumption (energy required by the network itself offset by increased efficiency and reduced wastage, dynamic pricing, and feedback loops) Increased privacy protection (intermediary can’t override or ignore rules defined in the blockchain) Improved understanding of underlying patterns and processes and opportunities to improve them through the collection and analysis of “infinite data” Strengthened predictive capability of various events whether negative (severe weather, earthquakes, failing health) or positive (best time to plant crops, buying patterns). The distributed open model means that IoT networks can be self-sustaining even after a company pulls out or a manufacturer fails.