Page 60 - CBM11

Spotlight on ...

BLOCKCHAIN MEETS

E-COMMERCE

Text: Alan Rhode, Co-Founder Taxmen

Blockchain is currently one of the most popular Google search terms. Unsurprisingly,
we should say: while on everybody’s lips, blockchain is an unclear concept for many. It is
a technology with such a wide range of potential applications, including bitcoin and the
other cryptocurrencies, that it has the potential to disrupt and revolutionise finance and
politics on a global scale.

hat is blockchain? means for members of complex networks to add value and
As a relatively recent Harvard Business Review collaborate without central authorities and ‘middlemen’ to
Warticle by Marco Lansiti and Karim Lahkhani establish trust in the data.’ (Definition adopted by The Law
indicates, ‘blockchain is an open, distributed ledger that can Society).
record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a
verifiable and permanent way.’ This technology has first become famous for its use in the
cryptocurrency sector, but now the focus has shifted to other
In substance, blockchain is a digital record storing a list of applications too.
transactions (named ‘blocks’). Each of these blocks includes
a link to the previous block (a ‘timestamp’) and various re- In the area of digital media, where piracy and illegal
lated data. Blocks cannot be modified once they are created. downloads are a serious threat to future content creation,
Such a dynamic creates a level of trust between every party blockchain may easily act as a means to register sales, loans,
privy to the blockchain, as all participants are sure that any donations and other transfers of individual digital artefacts,
data included in the blockchain is still valid and true, long preventing piracy and allowing art consumers to enjoy more
since creation. By using this technology, there is no longer rights than they do now.
a necessity for a central clearing authority (of a bank for
financial transactions, for example). Another sector where blockchain may soon hold an impor-
tant role is patent protection. There are various, evident is-
The main concept is that ‘blockchain allows data to be sues with national and international patent laws. No unified
shared swiftly and securely between parties without need EU patent system exists yet, as a 2017 publication by the
for an intermediary. […] This ‘decentralisation’ provides a EU Parliament entitled ‘How blockchain technology could

60