54  Blockchain

Identity

Digital identity has become a de facto standard enabling whole DeFi and

other blockchain use cases to work within the ecosystem of the regulatory

environment. Some of the use cases of digital identity within the blockchain

world are

• Know your customer (KYC)

• Identity fraud solutions

• Civil registry and identity records like Passports/National Insurance

number

• Digital voting.

DeFi and NFTs

Although DeFi and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been discussed in this

book before, it is essential to refer to them as a use case again. DeFi and

NFTs predominantly use Ethereum blockchain because of its integrated

smart contracts, own currency and other features; there are other block-

chains like Binance (BNB) which has recently launched a NFT platform

using its own currency as well as ETH to offer NFTs.

Others

There are hundreds of use cases utilising and appreciating blockchain tech-

nology. This category is used as a catch for them. Some of the examples or

use cases that could not be fitted under other categories are listed below:

• Blockchain as a service platform: With the influx of blockchain tech-

nology and various use cases, businesses have started appreciating

the value addition of blockchain technology. It offers transparency,

security, potentially long-term low cost, quick time to market etc.,

to name a few advantages. Having said that, setting up a blockchain

platform is very expensive and comes up with challenges like account-

ability, cost, skilled employees and regulatory impact. This complex-

ity derived start-ups and consulting companies to offer blockchain as

a service platform whereby customers can utilise the pre-built plat-

form and use consulting provided by skilled and experienced subject

matter experts to transform their business use cases.

• ICO: It is similar to the initial public offering (IPO), a classical route

for a company to go public to raise money by offering its stocks (units

of ownership) to anyone who can afford to buy the shares or stocks.