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Blockchain, Bitcoin, and E-commerce

Are you ready to submerge yourself wholly into the digital world? To take a deep dive into the ever-growing world of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies? Hopefully, your answer is yes, as this tech is quickly positioning itself to be the number one disruptor technology since the internet! But what exactly is blockchain? How do blockchain transactions work, and how will blockchain affect the future of global commerce, and how much more so E-commerce in our digital age?

Blockchain technology is not only becoming a prominent driving force in our global economy, but it is also gaining fast momentum as the one-stop-shop solution to several E-commerce challenges since E-commerce’s inception. From offering transactional transparency to a decentralized ecosystem to securing logistics data, allowing transparency in warranty information, blockchain provides you with the ability to turn insights into fixed assets that enable unprecedented data usage control.

Current forecasts suggest that global blockchain technology will experience massive revenue growth in the next decade. According to Statista, the market is expected to climb to over $39 billion by 2025. Over 60 percent of the financial sector has already invested in blockchain, making its market value concentrated in this field, and there are no signs of it slowing down. Although blockchain has long been mainly associated with Bitcoin, its potential is quickly being recognized by other industries. According to Gartner, blockchain will generate $3.1 trillion in new business by 2030, and even though mainstream adoption may not occur until 2023, businesses and organizations that become acquainted now will definitely benefit from doing so.

What is Blockchain?

Blockchain is a database, where bits of information or blocks are linked together in a chain, creating a system of recording transactional data in a way that makes it almost impossible to be altered, changed or hacked. A blockchain is a digital ledger of transactions that are duplicated and distributed across an entire network of computer systems on the blockchain. Due to the fact that the database is shared and managed by more than one party, inconsistencies are quickly spotted, making it an extremely reliable and trustworthy system. Each block in the chain occupies several transactions, and every time a new transaction occurs on that blockchain, a record of the transaction is added to every participant’s ledger. The decentralized database managed by multiple participants is known as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). Blockchain is a kind of DLT in which transactions are recorded with an unchangeable cryptographic signature known as a hash.

How Blockchain Will Revolutionize E-commerce?

Blockchain creates a level of consensus-based trust and achieves transparency without the need for a central authority. The decentralized ecosystem offers a dynamic checks-and-balances structure that is exceptionally secure. While enabling consumers to connect with companies or even other consumers, thereby eradicating the middleman from the transactional process. All transactions are instantaneous and completed transparently, and the digital ledger is automatically updated.

In the world of online shopping, every brand owner knows a single data breach can cost E-commerce retailers millions in revenues, not to mention the costs of brand sovereignty. Blockchain’s DLT and transparency across the ledger offer a level of security that to date is unprecedented. This means no middleman fees and unlimited savings on data breaches for online database platforms.

Another extremely important advantage of blockchain in E-commerce is that it fosters trust, as the authenticity of every transaction is vetted and confirmed by participants. Every transaction is documented in a shared ledger and cannot be modified once conducted, offering revolutionary transactional visibility. As we consider the global climate in today’s marketplaces, trust is not a minor thing when shoppers choose where to buy.

Logistics, Inventory Control, Operations, and More

Every E-commerce store is dependent on its supply chain. Without a reliable supply chain, you can kiss customer loyalty goodbye. As a result, E-commerce stores must stay intimately informed, regarding their stock and its manufacturing and shipping pipelines. Blockchain data tracks the supply chain step by step. E-commerce stores can ensure that vendors execute their part of any agreement exactly, from agreed product specs to delivery times and locations. Additionally, blockchain can make sure that the online store never runs out of products, while simultaneously ensuring that excess inventory is not accumulated by automatically decreasing inventory items and placing an order of replacement stock when pre-defined thresholds are met.

As blockchain enhances the transparency and security of E-commerce transactions, it allows customers to directly access retailers, thereby eliminating the middleman, and creating a more streamlined process for both the retailer and the consumer. The efficiency this creates is unparalleled, and the amount of potential savings in revenue of operational costs for E-commerce stores is significant. Just the savings in preventing cybercrime damage alone is enough to see blockchain as the retailer’s E-commerce store savior. Blockchain has enormous potential, and as more industries begin to embrace this technology, its impact will only grow, forever changing how we conduct business globally.

Lastly, and not insignificantly, as more people utilize online venues to conduct their transactions, the digital footprints they leave behind are inconceivable, leading to vulnerabilities and security issues. Every time a consumer enters their data or bank information onto an E-commerce website for payment, data is stored on internet databases everywhere. Blockchain will protect individual identities from theft and forgeries, helping retailers to build strong encrypted digital identities, ensuring secure identity authentication management.

As the online sales industry continues to implement blockchain technology, the benefits afforded to customers will most assuredly increase, guaranteeing the retailer more profit in revenue and allowing the retailer to extend this profit into bottom-line saving for their customers.

The phenomenal advent of Blockchain technology is showing no signs of slowing down. It is necessary for well-established E-commerce players and startups to keep themselves abreast of this amazing technology’s evolution as blockchain is globally implemented, as it will most likely transform the way we conduct our digital business globally.

Blockchain, Bitcoin, and E-commerce