Analysis: How Blockchain Will Transform Future Supply Chains

This report examines the transformative potential of blockchain technology on future supply chains. It begins with definitions and distinctions between blockchain and Bitcoin, tracing their history and evolution. The report then explores two real-world applications of blockchain, highlighting its use in financial transactions for those without access to traditional banking and in the trading of securities. The discussion includes the benefits of blockchain such as increased security and transparency. The report concludes by predicting the significant role blockchain will play in automating supply chain management. The report also highlights the use of blockchain in supply chains and the ability of blockchain to help in maintaining records of transactions within the market. The report also discusses how blockchain ensures all entities involved in a transaction are aware of the origin of assets.

Running head: BLOCKCHAIN – TRANSFORMATION OF FUTURE SUPPLY CHAINS
BLOCKCHAIN – HOW WILL IT TRANSFORM SUPPLY CHAINS OF THE FUTURE?
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Cryptocurrencies generally refer to the digital assets that are designed to serve the purpose of
the exchange with the use of the cryptography for the security of the transactions. These
cryptocurrencies make the use of the cryptography for controlling the creation of the various
units and the verification of the concerned assets and their transfer among the involved
parties. The following report deals with the definitions and the differences between bitcoins
and blockchains. The report proceeds to discuss the history of the bitcoins and the
blockchains and the evolution faced by both the media of exchanging funds. The report
further proceeds to discuss two real-life application of the blockchains. The report concludes
with the prediction on the future effect of the blockchains on the future supply chains.

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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
Discussion......................................................................................................................3
Definition and differentiation of the terms Blockchain and Bitcoin..........................3
History and evolution of Bitcoin and Blockchain......................................................4
Two current ‘real life’ applications of Blockchain....................................................5
Conclusion......................................................................................................................6
References......................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Cryptocurrencies generally refer to the digital assets that are designed to serve the
purpose of the exchange with the use of the cryptography for the security of the transactions
(Narayanan et al. 2016 p. 89). These cryptocurrencies make the use of the cryptography for
controlling the creation of the various units and the verification of the concerned assets and
their transfer among the involved parties. These currencies implement the decentralized
nature of control as compared to the centralized banking systems and the centralised systems
involving the electronic medium of money transfer. The following report deals with the
definitions and the differences between bitcoins and blockchains. The report proceeds to
discuss the history of the bitcoins and the blockchains and the evolution faced by both the
media of exchanging funds. The report further proceeds to discuss two real-life application of
the blockchains. The report concludes with the prediction on the future effect of the
blockchains on the future supply chains.
Discussion
Definition and differentiation of the terms Blockchain and Bitcoin
The blockchain generally refers to the record list that is observed to be growing in a
constant manner. The blocks that help in the constructing the concerned blockchain are linked
to each other and are secured using the various methods of cryptography. Each of the blocks
contained in the blockchain deal with a cryptographic hash of the preceding block,
transaction data and the timestamp. The design of the blockchains help resist the activities of
the modification of the data that is stored in the blockchain (Reid & Harrigan 2013, pp. 197-
223). The Bitcoin is one of the cryptocurrencies that is present in the market. It is one of the
first decentralised digitalised cryptocurrencies. The system behind the cryptocurrency works
without the control of any central bank or any other financial administrator. The operation of

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the bitcoins does not require the supervision of a single administrator for the continuation of
the operations of the system. The transactions within the system take place without the
assistance of any third party and is held directly among the peers involved in the transaction
chain. Both the concepts of the blockchain and the bitcoins were invented by a group of
people or an unknown person who is identified by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto in the year
2008 (Nakamoto 2008). The major difference between the concepts of blockchain and bitcoin
refer to the fact that the bitcoin is a cryptocurrency while the blockchain is one of the public
transaction ledgers that is maintained by the people who have been dealing in the bitcoins.
The bitcoin users use the blockchains to keep a record of the payments and other transactions
that they have undertaken.
History and evolution of Bitcoin and Blockchain
The concepts of both blockchain and bitcoin was introduced by an unknown person or
a group of people who are known as Satoshi Nakamoto in the year 2008. The blockchains
were conceptualised in the year 2008 by an unknown person or a group of persons who have
been known by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto. The blockchain was later implemented in the
cryptocurrency of Bitcoin as one of the key components of the concerned cryptocurrency.
The blockchains in the Bitcoins serve to be one of the public ledgers for all the transactions
that take place within the network. The paper by Satoshi Nakamoto had reflected the use of
the words block ad chain in a separate manner that came to be coined as one word in the year
2014 (Underwood 2016, pp.15-17). The blockchains have evolved hugely since the inception
of the concept as one of the major components in the cryptocurrency chain of Bitcoins. The
blockchain in the modern times also help the users to store their persistent persona and their
digital identifications over the blockchains. The security measures involved in the
blockchains have further made it a trustworthy area for the storage of the sensitive
information. The Bitcoins have also shown a commendable development in the concerned

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field (Kshetri 2017, pp.68-72). Various sectors of the market and the retail industry have
started accepting payments that are made though the modes of the cryptocurrencies like the
Bitcoins. The Bitcoin concept has passed through a number of the changes in the recent years
and the most recent being the introduction of the separate data for the signature, that is
commonly known as the witness (Walch 2015, p.837).
Two current ‘real life’ applications of Blockchain
There are various real-life applications of the blockchain that are very evident in the
recent times. One of them is the use of the blockchains for making transactions that involved
the banking procedures in countries wherein the residents do not have the proper access to the
financial organisations like the various banks (Swan 2015, p. 87). The people residing in the
countries wherein the infrastructure of the financial might be robust due to the various
fluctuations in the currency, the mistrust and the uncertainties. The use of the blockchains in
these cases might help the residents to gain the stability in the matters that concern the
financial transactions that take place within the country (Crosby et al. 2016, pp. 6-10). The
blockchains are one such method of financial transaction that would not face a loss in its
value in a very short period of time. The other major use of the blockchains is found in the
areas that pertain to the trading of the various types of the securities (Lee 2015, p.81). The
block chains might prove to be useful in these cases due to the fact that the securities industry
might involve a lot of transactions which might prove to be difficult to track. The use of the
blockchains tend to help in the maintenance of the various records of the transactions that
have been taking place within the market (Underwood 2016, pp.15-17). The blockchain
transactions involve the recording of the transactions in two different steps. The first step of
the transaction involves the recording of the transfer from the concerned source to the
intermediary section. This is followed by the second step that involves the transfer of the

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concerned items of the security industry from the intermediary section to the final destination
of the concerned item (Zyskind & Nathan 2015, pp. 180-184).
Conclusion
Thus, in conclusion it might safely be said that the blockchains would find a huge
usage in the supply chains in the future times. The blockchains might be applicable in a huge
number of activities like the automated management of the cold chains as well as in the
matters pertaining to the supply chains that are deemed to be independent in the matters of
their execution. The blockchains are considered to be a more secure way to hold the
transactions as the total blockchain is dependent on a number of the nodes that are stored in
various computers. This makes it tough for the criminals to tamper with the concerned
records that are held within the blockchain. In order to verify the authenticity of the
blockchain, it is necessary that all the entities that are involved in the transaction do agree to
the validity of the transaction. The transactions that are done via the blockchains are indelible
thereby leading to the conditions wherein the records maintained cannot be falsified in the
future. The blockchain also ensures the fact that all the various entities that are involved in
the transaction are aware of the origin of the various assets. The blockchain also helps the
concerned parties to gain transparency on the concerned transactions due to the fact that all
the copies of the shared blockchain would be holding the same data.

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References
Crosby, M., Pattanayak, P., Verma, S. & Kalyanaraman, V., 2016. ‘Blockchain technology:
Beyond bitcoin.’ Applied Innovation, vol. 2, pp.6-10.
Kshetri, N., 2017. ‘Can Blockchain Strengthen the Internet of Things?’. IT Professional,
vol. 19, no. 4, pp.68-72.
Lee, L., 2015. New Kids on the Blockchain: How Bitcoin's Technology Could Reinvent the
Stock Market. Hastings Bus. LJ, vol. 12, p.81.
Nakamoto, S. 2008. Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system.
Narayanan, A., Bonneau, J., Felten, E., Miller, A. & Goldfeder, S., 2016. Bitcoin and
Cryptocurrency Technologies: A Comprehensive Introduction. Princeton University Press.
Reid, F. & Harrigan, M., 2013. An analysis of anonymity in the bitcoin system. In Security
and privacy in social networks(pp. 197-223). Springer, New York, NY.
Swan, M. 2015. Blockchain: Blueprint for a new economy. " O'Reilly Media, Inc.".
Underwood, S., 2016. ‘Blockchain beyond bitcoin’. Communications of the ACM, vol. 59,
no. 11, pp.15-17.
Walch, A., 2015. ‘The bitcoin blockchain as financial market infrastructure: A consideration
of operational risk.’ NYUJ Legis. & Pub. Pol'y, vol. 18, p.837.
Zyskind, G. & Nathan, O., 2015, May. Decentralizing privacy: Using blockchain to protect
personal data. In Security and Privacy Workshops (SPW), 2015 IEEE (pp. 180-184). IEEE.