Blockchain has come a long way since it was described by Stuat Haber and W Scott Stornetta back in 1991. The technology has become one of the biggest innovations of the century and has given rise to various new possibilities in different sectors and industries. Say it fintech, retail, healthcare, enterprises, real estate, or supply chain.
A clear evidence of which is that today, almost every entrepreneur, digital marketer, and even blockchain development firm is showing an interest in learning the basics of blockchain technology and looking ahead to entering the space. And eventually, getting a slice of the market which is anticipated to be valued USD 39.7 Bn by the year 2025.
They have also begun looking into the latest blockchain trends and the best business models top players are working with.
However, most of them are missing one main point.
With the growing popularity of the technology, different ways to embrace it for business transformation are coming into the limelight and so, the kinds of blockchain projects; making everyone intrigued to know which of these types is destined to aid them in leading the digital environments in 2020. Something that you will come to know by the time you reach the end of this article.
So, shall we begin?
[Just in case you want to take a recap of the role of blockchain on the industries, check our blog on ‘the impact of blockchain on the economy’.]
Explained: The 5 Categories of Blockchain Projects
1. ‘Fear of Missing Out’ Blockchain Solutions
The first kind of blockchain solutions that are getting developed these days is FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
As depicted from the name, this type of projects are brought into life just to ensure that companies do not remain behind in the market. They have not held any meeting and discussed its role into their traditional business model and the possible outcomes they would derive from it in a particular time span. Or even looked into whether investing in blockchain app development is beneficial for them.
Rather, they have just taken this step just to show that they are innovative and work with the latest technology trends impacting the business world.
These kinds of projects, as you might have guessed so far, do not create much value for the business and remain a marketing act for the company. It just increases the chances of your target audience giving a second look to your business products/services or competitors fear of missing out and take the same step.
What’s more, the poorly planned blockchain projects might overburden the existing business ecosystem and demand additional costs. This can make leaders conclude that they ‘tried and failed’ blockchain or doubt on its future. Whereas, the only problem is that they kept on focusing and investing on the wrong use case of the technology.
2. Opportunistic Solutions
The second category in which blockchain projects fall is Opportunistic solutions.
These types of blockchain solutions are devised to solve any known problem, especially related to record-keeping. They add value to the business, even when not being operational for a longer period of time.
The only problem associated with this project type is that one might lose control over data and contracts later.
When looking into the real-life examples of Opportunistic blockchain projects, the blockchain solution developed by the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) to regulate records from credit-default swaps is the right one to consider.
3. Trojan Horse Projects
Trojan horse projects also landed into the list of type of blockchain business ideas gaining momentum this year.
These projects, just like trojan horses, are attractive, backed by respected brands and address the usual and wide-reaching problem in a particular industry. But, they demand users to share their sensitive information and transfer some control in such a way that results in market consolidation for the prime blockchain owner. So, it is required to invite different groups of people/ecosystems to participate in its processing.
A potential example of a trojan horse blockchain project is a food-tracking blockchain system. This system run by blockchain, unlike the traditional centralized ones, take comparatively less time and effort to determine the point at which the food items were adulterated/replaced, the people responsible for the same, and prevent it further. It enables users to access the records in real-time and prevent dozens of people from falling sick or suffer in other ways. But only when the participants are ready to share their personal information on the network.
These kinds of projects are quite effective. However, there’s a risk involved with considering these projects. They become reliant on the owner’s technology and locked in to the contract terms. But, with the passing time, they gain more control over the market because of having heaps of user data.
Also, the business currencies involved in the ecosystem where Trojan horse blockchain projects exist usually trade at a much higher risk level for the participating users.
4. Evolutionary Blockchain Projects
Another type that business leaders focus upon is the evolutionary blockchain project.
As the name suggests, these projects evolve with time. They are designed to improve over time so as to employ tokens with decentralized governance.
One example of such kind of blockchain software/applications comes from UEFA – the central committee for European football. UEFA works with two Swiss technology companies, TIXnGO and SecuTix, to create an evolutionary blockchain platform that drives a more equitable and safer market for the sales of football tickets.
The blockchain-powered platform encourages ticket buyers to download the SecuTix and TIXnGO applications. Here, the tickets are tokenized so as to keep a real-time record of the ticket purchase and connect it to the ownership details.
In case someone wishes to give away their ticket to a friend or colleague, they can do it through the application, which then stores the record of the transfer in the blockchain ecosystem. And if they wish to send it to anyone in the open market, the SecuTix platform can help them by defining that markup resellers are empowered to charge. This, as a whole, ensures that no unreasonable pricing is being asked or illegal brokers come into play.
Besides, the secondary market for tokenized tickets could mature into a decentralized sales network with time, such that it brings all the second ticket sellers at the same place.
When compared to trojan horse blockchain projects, the business currencies in this type can trade at a comparatively low risk level for the participants.
5. Blockchain-Native Solutions
Last but not least, blockchain native solutions are also among the type of projects business leaders consider in 2020.
Designed by startups or extended teams of existing organizations, these projects are meant to bring forth a new market of opportunities or disrupt an existing ecosystem. They might begin with different perspectives and facilities, but are supposed to move in the direction of tokenization or decentralized governance with time.
When talking about blockchain-native project types, the two industries that come to the limelight are Education and Sports.
In the Education sector, these projects emerged as a non-profit digital education society where students and teachers from different parts of the world could come together and relish the perks of higher education without worrying about learning exchanges or payments. The best example of which is Woolf University, the one founded by a group of scholars from Cambridge and Oxford and known as the ‘decentralized Airbnb for degree courses’.
Likewise in the gaming sector, these projects enable users to create their own tokens to support their favorite games and players. A perfect example of which is Enjinn.
The Blockchain native solutions introduces new business approaches into the market but comes with major currency risks. Because of this, they are preferred only by those who wish to manage their own data and experiment with the concept of decentralization independently.
Now while the definition and approaches of the different kinds of blockchain projects might have helped you with understanding which one is the right pick for your business, you can reach our blockchain consultants to know further. Our team has years of experience in helping startups as well as established brands from different industries to determine the right way of integrating blockchain into their traditional system and reap higher benefits. And that too, without worrying about the hidden business and tech-based challenges.
