Most crypto professionals believe that blockchain technology needs to be used for purchasing real world goods to become significant. Until then, the technology is not much more than a speculative asset. Some people call Bitcoin a store of value against volatility in the financial market. As useful as this can be for digital finance, cryptocurrencies are meant to replace or adjunct the digital flow of money. They simply offer a better solution for moving value over the internet.
Blockchain is Impacting Retail
The largest retailers in the world are convinced that blockchain is the future. Walmart and Alibaba have begun their own projects. Each has looked at different ways to obtain patents for new crypto solutions.
Alibaba
The Alibaba Group is a Chinese e-commerce company that operates one of the largest retail systems in the world. It applied for a US patent for its blockchain solution that unifies domain names. This is not the most unique application of the technology, but it does pioneer a globally recognized and unified network.
Walmart
Walmart has also applied for a blockchain-based patent. It is substantially different from most all other applications in use. The patent is in the field of drone communication systems. Walmart’s drone-blockchain project will leverage digital ledger technology to secure and manage multiple drone activities. Blockchain enables Walmat’s drones to communicate through encrypted messages while being able to seamlessly coordinate flight operations.
If Alibaba is using blockchain to improve its logistics and infrastructure through a network of globally identifiable domain names, then Walmart would be remiss to not follow suit. This is where Walmart Coin fits in. The retail giant’s new coin has been likened to the Libra project that Facebook recently announced. Walmart Coin will exist as a stable coin whose benefits affect lower income families and the unbanked the most.
A1: Proof of Concept
A1 is an Austrian telecom operator. It plans to use blockchain to settle payments in cryptocurrency. The initial coins the company will accept are Bitcoin, Ether (Ethereum), XRP (Ripple), Stellar, and Dash. A1’s initial testbed is limited to seven stores. The company demonstrates that blockchain offers significant value for operators that are not as globally dominant as Walmart and Alibaba. In fact, many crypto professionals believe that blockchain technology will prove more valuable for small businesses and independent operators.
