Hi steemians,
Welcome to week 3 of the engagement challenge. It has been an amazing experience all this while because we have been having very wonderful and interesting topics to write about here as our contest. This week like the previous one, we have a very important titled Understanding Blockchain Technology In Business And Finance. I will be attempting the questions given below to explain my understanding.

Blockchain technology came to the limelight in 2009 when Bitcoin was introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto. Ever since this era of technology came into existence many sectors over the years started adopting its use. The financial and business sector is not left out hence that is the reason we are discussing this question.

You will agree with me that the use of blockchain in different sectors has improved its efficiency and also make it more secure. In this question, I will list and discuss a few aspects where blockchain technology is used in the business sector.

Security:- One of the aspects that the blockchain can be used in a business is security. We are aware that blockchain uses cryptography hence it deals with end-to-end encryption of data. This simply means that in a business, you can store your data in the blockchain and the data will be distributed across different ledgers which makes it immutable after they have been verified and stored.

Accessibility: Another use of blockchain in the finance and business sector is the accessibility it offers to users. Blockchain is a technology that you can access at any point in time provided there is a network where you are. All you need is a device and a network hence business and transactions all over the world be done anywhere and anytime via blockchain.

Transparency: This is another use case of blockchain in the finance and business sector. Whatever transaction is carried out can be seen by all hence there will be no need for argument on whether the transaction went through or not. Everything will be crystal clear to all those involved.

Low cost of charges: Blockchain technology allows people to send or receive money of the same or different amounts to different people at the same time. Hence the charges that were supposed to be incurred for all individual transactions can be charged just on one transaction.

For example, if the charge to send 100 steem a person is 2 steem, then if we decided to send 100 steem to 20 persons at once, we can still do that via the technology and only spend 2 steem to perform this operation because we are sending once.

Reliability Another aspect where the blockchain is used in finance and business is the reliability it offers to businesses. Since records are kept in different nodes across the world, certainly, a can not be lost and once the data is recorded it can not be edited. Hence the information we get as stored on the blockchain remains reliable since it can not be tampered with.

Just as I have earlier mentioned, different sectors at the current are adopting the use of technology in their day to tad activities and the financial and business sector is not left out. In this section, I will be listing some of the applications of blockchain in business.

Data storage: One of the major reason why many sectors adopt the use of blockchain technology today is because of effective or efficient data storage. I have said earlier that data stored in the blockchain are immutable and can not be changed hence businesses go for this technology to keep the record very secure.

In Gaming: Blockchain is also applicable in the gaming industries which allows users to play games and earn a token for their victory. We have seen different types of games where the users buy ir avatar in a form of NFT and then use it to play other users and earn some sort of reward at the end.

Fast transaction: In the aspect of the transaction, we can see that blockchain technology has helped in the speed of transactions and also in the reduction of charges as I have explained earlier above.

Management of numerous transactions: Blockchain technology also goes a long in working more effectively in handling numerous transactions at the same time. This is because it can perform several recordings at the same time since there are a variety of nodes responsible do validate transactions.

Based on my understanding, I think the major goal of blockchain technology in finance and business is to remove the presence of third parties when it comes to the transaction and also to the transaction faster and more transparent.

We know that before the coming of blockchain technology, there have been other means by which the finance and the business sectors operate but there also a lot of lapses with those ways hence blockchain technology came as a result of eradicating all those lapses of potholes found in the previous ways in which finance and business operations.

Cryptocurrency has affected business in many ways. We know that the major aim of blockchain technology is so that we can transact cryptocurrency I.e hold and also exchange it. In some businesses today, we have seen the impact of crypto based on the volatility of the asset, a lot of people have become very rich within a very short period.

This goes the same way for those who accept it as a means of exchange to trade their business. We have seen a significant increase where people are moved from being millionaires to billionaires and the verse versa.

More also, we have seen that some of these crypto assets are pegged to our native currency and the hospitality of the asset goes a long in affecting the functionality of our business. Here in Nigeria currently, we facing inflation due to the rise of dollars which is a result of the bearish market of the crypto asset.

The world is moving digital and for that reason, I want to believe that cryptocurrency has a brighter future when it comes to financing and business and even in other aspects or sectors of our lives. Though due to many reasons, cryptocurrency has not been completely approved in the world I'm certain that is just a matter of time.

We have heard of CBDCs which are also in form of cryptocurrency, the only difference is that they will be regulated by the government of every country. This is a sign that sooner or later the cryptocurrency will be accepted by all. Currently, we have seen some businesses embracing the technology already and that goes a long way in making them well known.

In the finance and business sector, many blockchain applications are used to ensure the smooth and effective running of the business. In this section, I will discuss these few applications that are used in the finance and business sector.

Metaverse: This is one of the blockchain applications that use in the business and finance sector. This application allows people to have an avatar of themself that will be presently present at the point of any transaction. Here business can be done with people all over the world while you just sit at home and use the tool to go for your business trip and come back within a split of seconds.

Blockchain Gaming: The blockchain game is another application that is used in business because users buy their avatar or even buy land and then sell it or build on it in the virtual world which he or she in turn lease it out to tenant and make money. Before this time people just play games without any benefit but since the coming of blockchain, people don't spend their precious time without gaining anything in return.

In summary, blockchain technology is indeed a trending technology which is taking ground and spraying like wildfire. A lot of people are already accepting but there are still some disadvantages which have hindered its acceptance by many. The world is moving forward which means sooner or later everyone will embrace this very technology because that is the future. We have seen it's an implementation in every sector of life most especial in the finance and business sector.