The crypto sphere is on fire right now, as more digital currencies appear on the web, with the majority of them aiming to disrupt the finance world as we know it. Bitcoin was the first one to aim to take out the middlemen from money transactions, and its growing popularity seems to show that it is on a good way to make a real revolution in the way we use banks and payment methods.
However, banking (and finance in general) is not the only sphere that is currently being disrupted by the cryptocurrency market. Cryptos, as well as its underlying technology called blockchain, have the power to disrupt other industries, and here are some that are most susceptible to them.
Gaming
The gaming industry is already being affected by cryptos big time. Many game developers are incorporating the blockchain technology that allows players to create unique and scarce items of real value. Cryptocurrencies are going to be used for trading those items.
In fact, let’s go one step further than that. Open world and MMO games have always struggled towards making a unique in-game economy. Some of them achieved to do that, and games such as World of Warcraft were pretty successful in maintaining one. However, admins still had the power to reward gold and items and to destroy them whenever they wanted. By introducing the blockchain technology, these ecosystems would resemble our real-life ecosystem much more as scarcity will play its part.
There’s one more important thing to take into account – blockchain-based games will be decentralized, meaning there will be nobody in charge to give us free in-game money and affect the economy of the game in any way. There’s a great article on HackerNoon which explores the idea of in-game economies that are based on blockchain.
In order to get in the world of cryptocurrencies and experience how it works in the gaming industry, there’s a great online browser-based game that can help you with that and it is called Cryptokitties. You get to take care of kittens, and each one of them is unique and irreplaceable, just like every single instance of Bitcoin or any other crypto. You can trade cryptokitties, but you can never destroy them or cheat the game in any way. Once you understand how cryptokitties work, you will be able to gain a deeper understanding of how cryptocurrencies work and how they can be connected to gaming in various exciting ways. Feel free to check out this text to find more similar games to Cryptokitties.
Gambling
The gambling industry has always been at the forefront of technological innovations, and the biggest players are interested in using cryptocurrencies as well as blockchain technology. There are already numerous Bitcoin casinos that allow players to deposit and withdraw cryptos to and from the online casino. Cryptos as a deposit method is very reliable, quick, and secure due to the nature of cryptocurrencies.
Online casinos and sportsbooks using cryptocurrencies are currently thriving, and players can enjoy remaining anonymous and safe while using cryptos as a deposit/withdrawal method. But there are certain downsides here as well, since the whole thing is not really well-regulated, meaning there’s a lot of room for things such as money laundering or any other type of scam, so make sure to approach cryptocurrency casinos with caution and stick to the legitimate ones if you decide to test it.
However, the gambling industry will not stop there, as many professionals explore the possible ways to make additional implementations of cryptos and blockchain in casinos in order to improve the overall gambling experience and facilitate transactions.
The Legal Industry
Law is there to guide us and decide what’s right or not. However, humans are prone to making mistakes, and judges are humans. Moreover, some people can subdue law to their will by destroying evidence on purpose and making changes to the existing ones.
The blockchain technology is made in such a way that it simply prevents anything from being destroyed. What once becomes a part of a distributed ledger, it will remain there as long as there are nodes in the network.
But is there a way for cryptocurrencies to reshape the legal industry? At this point, there are a couple of cryptocurrency law firms and organizations that aim to provide legislative background for the use of this type of money. That’s already one way these two things are connected, and their relationship could only grow in the future as the need for further crypto regulation arises among the people.
Healthcare
By introducing the blockchain technology to healthcare, we can get a much better overview of the entire system, improve how patient records are stored, facilitate supply chains, and much more.
There are a couple of companies already exploring the possible ways to connect cryptocurrencies to healthcare and improve the industry. For example, Dentacoin wants to improve the overall dental care system by making it more accessible and introducing cutting-edge payment schemes. Make sure to check this great article which features some of the leading companies in the healthcare-crypto space.
Conclusion: Things look bright for cryptocurrencies
Many revolutionary and disruptive technologies were gradually explored until brought to perfection, and such is the case with both cryptocurrencies and their cornerstone blockchain.
Looking at the timeline of this technology, we can conclude that it is still very much in its infancy. The mysterious figure (or team) that goes by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin and popularized cryptocurrencies, but that was only the beginning. Many young and brilliant minds, such as the one of Vitalik Buterin have further explored the possibilities and created numerous other products and services based on blockchain.
It’s safe to say that cryptos are slowly filling every pore of our society and that their time is yet to come. As you can see, each of the industries in this article already has some connections to blockchain and crypto, and that is only bound to grow in the future.