The Emergence of Blockchain in a COVID Era
“We’ve vaulted five years forward in digital adoption in a matter of around eight weeks.” McKinsey (Nov. ‘20)
Of the silver-linings that will emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, the most enduring will likely prove to be the acceleration of the greatest technological advancement of the post-COVID era. The imperative of preserving the potential for economic prosperity whilst suppressing the virus not only highlighted the insufficiency of existing digital capabilities, but also triggered an increased adoption of a specific transformational technology: blockchain.
Popularly known as the technology from which Bitcoin was conceived, blockchain has many other use cases. In essence it is a data management platform, unique because of its distributed network architecture. A number of analogies have been created to help explain blockchain in layman terms, however I find it can be most easily understood as a secure, digital filing cabinet. A filing cabinet that has the potential to be reproduced infinitely, with the files of each iteration updating simultaneously. Upon opening a filing cabinet, a user can see all the files that the cabinet contains. However, the information recorded in each file requires a separate password to be decrypted. Whilst additional files can be added, each addition must be verified by the network of cabinet owners first. This is done through an unbiased computational algorithm and, thus, establishes trust within the network. No single version of the filing cabinet assumes authority; trust and ownership are, therefore, distributed.
Blockchain’s enabling potential, beyond its application in financial services, is beginning to be realised, as the combined value of privacy, transparency, and connectivity has been elevated to essential. This has spurred considerable innovation in the blockchain space, accelerating its adoption.
The urgency for administrative access to sensitive data in combating the virus, while respecting privacy, has precipitated a rise in the adoption of blockchain. The spread of coronavirus has typically had an amplified effect in nations where civil liberties reign supreme. Countries such as China, South Korea, and Singapore, have been able to contain the viral spread due to greater governmental control and a strong sense of civic duty. Blockchain conveniently obliges the importance of permitting government and health agencies the data they require, whilst protecting individual privacy in the process. Privacy is assured by allowing citizens to anonymously share detailed and real-time medical data that could inform governmental response and assist in containing the viral spread, whilst also selectively permitting access to only the relevant data required.
Transparency has become indispensable, owing to the need to ensure both the supply of materials to mitigate the spread of the virus, as well as to trace and contain it. The insufficiencies of outdated analogue systems have been spotlighted as the distribution of medical supplies and healthcare talent is impeded, as well as the hindrance on inventory management and delivery tracking. The integration of blockchain can enable effective supply chain management through the construction of an indestructible audit trail. Through the consolidation of siloed platforms, the provision of a single source of truth becomes available to all the permitted parties of that network. Data transparency is critical in contact tracing, as without clear visibility, infection tracking and forecasting is unreliable.
The fractured nature of data storage and transmission in the health industry has been highlighted by COVID-19. The prevalence of disparate datasets, stored in siloed platforms, is an inefficiency that underlines the need for greater interoperability. An individual visits 20 different healthcare professionals during their lifetime, on average. The construction of several different digital identities, on several different platforms, in several different formats, is intrinsically problematic. Blockchain enables the reconciliation of these disparate datasets, creating one consolidated digital identity. This is particularly relevant in COVID times, as possessing one’s own electronic health records (EHRs) on a singular platform is important for health practitioners to optimally treat patients and allocate scarce medical resources. Storing your EHRs on a digital wallet is not only secure, but it enables the admission of selective access to only the relevant data required at the will of the patient.
With the advent of COVID-19, we have seen the accelerated adoption of blockchain to combat and suppress the transmissible effect of the pandemic. However, like Bitcoin and its disruptive effect on the financial services industry, blockchain’s application will not be limited to biotech use cases and will undoubtedly cause seminal advancements in other industries. COVID-19 has played an important role in promoting blockchain’s many benefits and has encouraged further innovation in the technology’s application.
