Some call it the future of money, while some dismiss it as just a phase. Irrespective of the reactions, the year 2017 has been a revolutionary year in the world of cryptocurrencies. The recent upsurge in Bitcoin and Ripple price, along with its growing adoption and investments into the blockchain technology development is suggesting that the cryptocurrency industry is here to stay for good.
With many institutional investors and cryptocurrency funds investing into cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, there has been a rapid increase in the number of daily transactions and the Litecoin price in recent years.
Along with being considered an alternative to fiat currencies like the US Dollar and Euro in the future world, the growth of cryptocurrencies and its underlying blockchain technology are revolutionizing 5 other industry sectors. Here is a look at the major industry sectors that are being transformed.
Online Gambling Industry
Since the year 2014, around 3.7 million Bitcoins (or BTC) have been wagered in the online gambling industry, valued to be approximately around $25.8 billion. Around 50% of the Bitcoin Trade transactions in the year 2013 were made in gambling-related transactions.
Along with the online gambling industry, the cryptocurrency-based gambling market has seen recent growth. The launch of online gambling platforms such as the blockchain technology-based ZeroEdge in November 2017 shows the potential of cryptocurrencies in the gambling industry.
Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Industry
The emergence of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry and provide new work opportunities for pharmacists. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin offer immense value to the healthcare industry as any government-backed financial institutions or banks do not control them. Hashed Health is a blockchain-based health care provider that is working to put all health care providers and their credentials on the blockchain.
Banking and Payment Industry
Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology is enabling financial access to people around the world and reducing their dependence on traditional banking and payment systems. Regular transactions such as payments, lending & borrowing, money transfers, and even exchange of goods (or services) can be completed directly using cryptocurrency platforms without the need of an intermediary bank or payment system.
Marijuana and the Pot Industry
Along with the growth of the cryptocurrency valuations to nearly $600 billion in 2017, stock prices of marijuana and legal pot companies have made notable gains. With the marijuana and pot industry still considered illegal in the federal state of the U.S., major U.S. banks are disallowing the purchase of pot and marijuana using bank-issued credit and debit cards.
In this scenario, cryptocurrencies can solve funding and capital investment hurdles for this industry by serving as an intermediary currency or through Initial coin offerings (or ICOs).
Development of Smart and Green Cities
Based in the Netherlands since 2015, Parksen has been providing a cloud-based parking solution, which has been integrated with over 100 Dutch municipalities. Along with their affordable parking solution, the company has been working on a sustainable smart city development by integrating cryptocurrencies.
Powered by the Ethereum blockchain, PARQ tokens (developed and issued by Parksen) has the potential to combat city congestion and pave the way for smart and connected cities.
Conclusion
Thanks to its decentralization and removal of a central authority, cryptocurrencies can revolutionize these industry domains and many other sectors in the years to come.
Image Credit: ncbi.org.in
