Banks often act as middlemen within the global economy by managing and coordinating the financial system through their internal ledgers. Since these ledgers aren’t available for the public to inspect, it forces trust in banks and their often outdated infrastructure.

The ideas behind blockchain were first conceived as early as 1991, but it wasn't until Bitcoin was developed in 2009 that the technology started to receive more attention. Bitcoin was created by a person or group of people under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Though it's still unknown exactly who Satoshi Nakamoto is, their technological innovation has already made a huge impact on the way the world creates and uses money.

A supply chain is a network of people and businesses involved in creating and distributing a particular product or service - all the way from the initial suppliers to the end users and customers. A basic supply chain system often involves the suppliers of food or raw materials, the manufacturers (processing stage), the logistics companies, and the final retailers.

Charitable organizations often encounter barriers to success due to a lack of transparency, accountability issues, and limits to the ways they can accept donations. Crypto-philanthropy (or the use of blockchain technology to facilitate charitable contributions) offers an alternative solution, with decentralized and direct transactions that may help these organizations receive donations and raise funds more efficiently.

While it is more often associated with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology has also been explored for data storage and protection in a range of different industries. Along with charity and supply chain, the healthcare sector is among the most discussed use cases. But what aspects of blockchain make it suitable for healthcare?

Nick Szabo first described smart contracts in the 1990s. Back then, he defined a smart contract as a tool that formalizes and secures computer networks by combining protocols with user interfaces.

A security is a financial instrument that holds value and can be traded. Under this definition, many of the instruments we see today – stocks, bonds, options – could be considered securities.