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Contrary to what you might think from reading certain news articles, crypto is more than just something to buy and hold onto. Crypto has a lot of uses within the original remit of working as an actual, active currency. In this guide, we're exploring some of the businesses and industries that are using this technology to its full potential, and the revolution that is currently occurring thanks to blockchain.
Stake has grown quickly since its inception in 2017, having been launched as the first serious crypto gambling platform. In its relatively short life span, Stake has grown a huge amount and developed a number of industry partnerships such as working with Pragmatic Play, one of the biggest names in the world of online casino and slot game development, showing that plenty of companies value crypto for trading (and gaming) as well as just holding onto.
Stake's also got some big partnerships in the wider community, investments from Drake, and sports team sponsorships show the growth of the brand and its global reputation. They are trailblazers in the world of crypto and in the world of gambling, and they have been able to embrace what this technology can, and inevitably will do to industries all over the world.
Pros:
● Gamble in crypto converted to other currencies, so your stake can show as other currencies based on a simple conversion, making it simple to know how much you're gambling and keep track of the value.
● Deposit in a number of different cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ripple, MoonPay, TRON.
● No hassle, super quick withdrawals. That's one of the benefits of crypto, and Stake Casino knows what their customers value, including the option to move money around fast.
● Supporting responsible gambling. Stake Casino takes its responsibilities very seriously and has a number of different responsible gambling measures including help and support that they offer.
Cons:
● Some of the loyalty bonuses offered to require larger deposits to qualify, so you may not get the same rewards playing this online casino if you're working with smaller stakes.
● Their online sportsbook varies depending on what sport you want to gamble on, not all of the sports have the most options and markets for you to take advantage of.
Crypto could be set to become a mainstay in the gambling industry, and as time goes on, there is every chance that more companies offering online casinos and sportsbook gambling will introduce crypto as a method of paying. A lot of crypto investors may hold very little money in terms of their original country's currency, so having the option to use blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies will open up this industry to more people.
Of course, as we're walking about cryptocurrency, it is clear that blockchain has already changed the way people handle finances, and send and receive money. One of the biggest draws of crypto, other than being a decentralized system, is the fact that it can allow people to make fast and secure transactions and send money among friends and companies really easily.
Finances can be changed forever by blockchain, as the need for people working in the industry may be reduced, and trading, such as buying and selling stocks and bonds, can take place much more quickly and with reduced banking fees. Ultimately, this means a more efficient industry, but it also changes the face of the wider financial and Fintech industries.
It isn't just the disruptors like Bitcoin that have become known for using blockchain tech, and there are some big companies and institutions that have been around for hundreds of years trying to embrace blockchain as part of their offering.
In 2016, the Federal Reserve in the US began a project working with IBM to use blockchain closely with their digital payment methods. Across the world, brands like Barclays Bank, Deutsche Bank, and more are at least experimenting with adopting the technology.
Blockchain and the insurance industry have a fledgling relationship. A lot of people have never really considered how these marry up, but when you think about it, it is perfect. Insurance requires safe and secure management of peoples' data and for information to be shared without the risk of manipulation or interception. Blockchain can be applied in exactly this way.
Blockchain can also be used for added security when signing contracts, such as using blockchain smart contracts and giving all parties in a deal the security they need. The nature of blockchain means that the information shared is inherently more safe for everyone involved.
The proof of this is in the fact that companies are already using blockchain in the insurance industry, and there is huge potential for this to grow in the future. For instance, Microsoft has worked with one of the biggest companies in the world of shipping, Maersk, to create a marine insurance platform that relies totally on blockchain to operate. This is proof that some of the biggest companies are embracing technology.
Maersk's head of insurance Lars Henneberg spoke about the implementation of blockchain. "Insurance transactions are currently far too tedious and frictional, blockchain technology has the potential to facilitate the desired development that is long overdue."
The software ran for 20 weeks as a proof of concept and showed that cloud-based and secure systems were perfectly possible in the world of insurance.
This is another area where the progress of blockchain is not just some theoretical advancement; it is real and tangible.
Because blockchain is so secure and reliable, it is easy for people to store their ideas or creative work on blockchain systems. Data such as names, the date a work was created, and other tags can all be stored in a ledger as proof of intellectual property.
This means that those creating pretty much anything can use blockchain for more protection. We might be seeing fewer lawsuits regarding the intellectual property of music and artwork in the future, as blockchain manages to provide immutable evidence of who created something, where, and when. The legal protection this can provide is already on display.
Photography giants of the past, Kodak, have proved to be unlikely early adopters and their company has grown as a result of their clever use of blockchain. KODAKOne is the name of the platform they have created, which manages the copyright of images and videos. KODAKCoins are another clever revolution in the photography industry, as these can be used to license and buy the images that people have created and copyrighted. This could lead to a revolution in rights management.
Kodak created a simple and succinct description of their platform:
"Utilizing blockchain technology, the KODAKOne platform will create an encrypted, digital ledger of rights ownership for photographers to register both new and archive work that they can then license within the platform. With KODAKCoin, participating photographers are invited to take part in a new economy for photography, receive payment for licensing their work immediately upon sale, and for both professional and amateur photographers, sell their work confidently on a secure blockchain platform."
Anyone who has worked in supply chain management will tell you that it is an industry with many moving parts, both literally and figuratively. All of the aspects of the supply chain, however complex, must work together.
This means tracking inventory, freight shipments, the transport of goods, finances, and much more. It is a complex industry. Like a lot of other complex industries, people in the world of the supply chain are noticing the fact that blockchain tech has the functions to make all of this a little simpler as well as more reliable. For instance, a distributed ledger can help anyone involved, from freight companies to retailers, track and trace shipments, where they are, how long they have been on the road, and more.
One of the biggest food retailers in the world, Walmart, has worked closely with IBM to implement the use of blockchain. They are working on blockchain applications to keep all of their data in sync while making it easier to trace food. IBM has recently used this system to check on the origins of food including mangoes and pork that were imported, meaning that they could see how long it had spent in transit when the deliveries originated, and more.
The applications for the supply chain are many, and we're yet to see the full effect of blockchain in this industry.
From Stake Casino to Maersk, there are some huge companies already using blockchain and cryptocurrencies within their systems, but there are plenty of other industries that are already testing the use of blockchain, and the industries could quickly be set to change as a result:
● Government and polling. Government polling and other procedures can be made more efficient and secure by decentralizing and using blockchain, this could give an extra level of protection for those who are scared of government corruption, too. Countries like Australia and Switzerland have already experimented with blockchain tech in government.
● Real estate. Real estate can be such a complex industry that we need a variety of middlemen to play their part in it. Real estate can get rid of some of the intermediaries due to the strength of blockchain and the security that it can provide for everyone in a real estate chain. Financially, blockchain can also make the transfer of finances a lot safer.
● Healthcare. With so many facets to the healthcare industry, it is hard to pick out just one or two areas where blockchain tech can make a difference. For some examples, the transfer of records and data relating to an individual could be hugely impacted, as professionals can quickly and easily make this available to others through blockchain data without opening it up so easily for manipulation. Of course, blockchain can also help with research, payment, and other areas of the industry, generally helping to keep everyone secure.
Stake casino has been one of the key players in embracing crypto so centrally to their business model and proved that people who have invested in crypto don't just want to sit on it and hope for a return. Crypto can serve its purpose of keeping everyone a lot more secure and has applications in other industries, with companies such as IBM already putting a huge amount of resources into embracing crypto and giving this extra level of security across the board.
