How a bunch of tech savvy entrepreneurs are using blockchain to solve problems in the areas of graphics rendering, identification processes and diamond trade.
Blockchain stormed onto the tech scene with ambitions of disrupting the status quo across several industries while demonstrating the potential to do so. Nevertheless, the technology currently faces some limitations that have slowed the hype train, and many of the most promising projects remain concepts or Minimum Value Product (MVPs) that are far from reaching the market. This general lack of real, proven solutions may discourage observers and embolden the industry’s naysayers.
Nevertheless, there are several projects that have already started to show tangible results and are positioning themselves at the forefront of the blockchain sector. These companies have realized that despite blockchain’s future potential, delivering solutions right now requires partnerships with companies in the fields being disrupted. Announcements of blockchain projects allying themselves with major corporations in search of ways to unlock their true potential are growing in frequency. With major names like Ripple highlighting just how successful the model can be, the blockchain sector is gradually recognizing the advantages that stem from integrating with the industries they seek to disrupt.
Providing A Real Solution For Rendering Graphics Fast
One of blockchain’s biggest advantages is in the ability to leverage a network’s resources to optimize performance. This concept has already been applied in several areas, including cloud storage, computing, website acceleration, and many more. The model is especially effective when applications have harnessed large numbers of users. Because the technology requires larger numbers of users, there is a natural barrier to improving—larger user numbers require better services, which are only possible by providing a better service.
This paradoxical issue threatens to restrict the sector’s growth in this direction. However, developing a solid foundation regardless of user numbers can help minimize this challenge. One of the tech sectors that require the most computing power is graphics rendering. Applications like CAD, Photoshop, Blender, and more can strain even the most powerful computers when rendering complex images and videos.
To address this problem, Leonardo Render is using blockchain to distribute processing to a pool of graphics processors that can significantly improve rendering times and reduce strain on PCs. While the company is planning to fully depend on blockchain, it has partnered with Giga Watt to create a stable of processing power independent of the blockchain. The company already counts upon 23,000 GPUs which can render images in minutes and for a fraction of the fees charged by competitors. Users are more likely to join if they see the application’s value, something difficult when there are too few users.
Improving The Way We Identify Ourselves
In terms of improving digital interactions and transparency, blockchain delivers one of the most revolutionary means of verifying and identifying people while still protecting their privacy. The idea of self-sovereign identity is not a new concept. The goal is to create a method of identification that is both fully reliable and anonymous. The idea comes from the cryptography world but was technically not feasible until the emergence of blockchain technology.
While there are several companies working on self-sovereign identity systems, the sector is completely dominated not by the number of users online, but the number of organizations that accept the identifications as valid.  Obtaining this level of acceptance organically is difficult as organizations and governments are reluctant to abandon centralized systems that frequently cost millions of dollars to build and maintain. Moreover, users’ identities are fragmented across the web, making it hard to control one’s exposure to the world.
SelfKey, a blockchain-based self-sovereign identity platform, is seeking to make itself indispensable to several industries. The company’s identity wallets help users exert greater control of their personal identification and sensitive documents. To drive adoption, SelfKey has focused on partnering with a variety of organizations to create a network that streamlines identification processes.
The company’s alliance with Global Advisory Group—a major citizenship provider for EU programs—extends it reach into government identities.  Meanwhile associations with fintech and other financial firms mean the company could be a de facto identification method for the industry in just a few short years.
Bringing Transparency To The Diamond Trade
The diamond trade is historically one of the least transparent industries in the world. From its less-than-reputable origins to the tight control exerted by a few major corporations, the industry is in serious need of greater transparency. Many aspects of the diamond trade remain shrouded in mystery, an issue which can impact the market’s profitability and size. From the source of diamonds to ensuring they’re ethically mined and match their stated specifications, the industry exhibits many gaps to fill.
By default, blockchain’s architecture and operation demand transparency between users. Consensus is based on all nodes in the network having the same information and verifying it correctly, which means every single node has the same ledger of transactions. In the diamond trade, this level of forced transparency has rarely existed.
Diamond platform Everledger’s founders understood that the industry could deploy blockchain to force an exit from the shadows. The system keeps every diamond bought and sold listed on its ledgers, granting anyone the ability to verify its origin and destination. Everledger has also been expanding their reach in the market to ensure as many products are on its database. They have partnered with Brilliant Earth, a company focused on ethically sourced gems, as well as Gübelin, a renowned gem lab. These partnerships help Everledger improve diamonds tracking and identification while encouraging greater transparency across an industry that is notoriously resistant to change.
Blockchain is decidedly a disruptive technology, but it requires an extra push to unleash its true potential. By integrating into the industries these savvy entrepreneurs wish to disrupt, they provide blockchain with the foundation to thrive and sustain itself until it can finally reach levels of more widespread adoption.
