The relationship between states is perhaps the most bureaucratized issue in the world. As far as transnational transactions are concerned, there is a paper red tape and high commissions. Today, in the age of high technology, more comfortable times are coming. In this process, it’s not just one technology that plays its role, but none the less I’d like to single out blockchain technology. As you know, one of the main advantages of this technology is security, and this is an extremely important point in the flow of information or money abroad. The second advantage of blockchainis speed. For example, international payments and transfers take, as a rule, several days. In the case of smart contracts, this happens instantly. The third bonus is cost. If we talk about the flow of money, the commission here is minimal, especially when compared with classical instruments. If we talk about information, savings are achieved because there is no need for lawyers, notaries and other intermediaries.
For example, the Austrian project SHIFT.cash specializes in issuing loans secured by car titles. This will be an international platform, directly connecting borrowers and investors from different countries. From the point of view of investors, such a project may be interesting only under the condition that all transfers are safe and secure when transferring funds, which is achieved by smart contracts. Within the framework of the project, a convenient and customary online banking interface has been developed where the investor will be able to control the loans issued in real time. In addition, the interest lies in the fact that you can lend to a person located on the other part of the world, where the rates on loans are particularly high, respectively, the demand for alternative lending is higher.
So far, most of the advantages from using blockchain in international operations were taken advantage by financial and trade projects related to payments and transfers. For the financial sector, blockchain systems saves a lot of money — by cutting of jobs and accelerating all operations.
But the impact of blockchain is not limited to the financial sector. For example, another very promising direction is logistics and supply chain control. For companies, this increases the efficiency of inventory management and ensures the safety of the food products supplied. The buyer of the products, in turn, can be assured of their freshness and quality: the absence of GMOs, unwanted additives and in general — compliance with the declared “on the label” information. Roughly speaking, by using blockchain, you wouldn’t be able to sell fish from the nearest river as one from the Pacific.
For investors, new opportunities are opened up by tokenization of assets, that is, the transfer of the value of an object to the blockchain, just like various financial instruments work. For example, if you take precious stones, then thanks to the security that blockchain gives us, the investor can safely invest in the product, without getting it in the physical sense, which significantly simplifies the process and removes many issues related to international borders. By the way the same platform SHIFT.cash as a low-risk investment platform also could exist, thanks to tokenization. On this platform, the collateral — the car — is tokenized; therefore the risks of the investor are insured and backed up by a real asset.
