One of the things that made Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies popular is the transparency provided by the blockchain technology. In fact, this is the reason why even the Canadian government is now exploring the use of blockchain technology in making government research grant and funding information transparent to its public.
The National Research Council (NRC) is currently using a Canadian product that has been built on the Ethereum blockchain. The Catena Suite has been made in order to publish funding and grant information in real time. How exactly does it work? Once the NRC creates or amends a grant, all of the information will then be stored on the Ethereum blockchain. This will then be posted on an online database that Canadians can check.
In an NRC blog post, they mentioned that “Blockchains provide the ultimate in transparency and trust, making this technology a brave new world for organizations that strive to conduct transparent businesses”.
They also mentioned that “These are early days yet, but experiment is expected to provide constructive insights into the potential for blockchain technology and how it may be used for more open and transparent function of public programs”.
How Can Blockchain Technology Help NRC?
For starters, blockchain technology makes use of public ledgers of transactions that are shared to different users. This only means that data that has been placed on the public ledger can never be altered. Therefore, it is a secure method when it comes to keeping your record safe.
Storage of data can be tricky. However, when it comes to decentralized encrypted blocks, or information that has been stored on network of computers that are found in different parts of the world, then you have something that is both secure and impenetrable.
Typically, a Bitcoin comes to mind whenever blockchain technology is being mentioned. In fact, due to the meteoric rise of Bitcoin’s price especially when it reached almost $20,000 in Mid-December 2017, many have been overlooking the possible functions of blockchain technology. In fact, blockchain technology can be used more than just for quick profits.
What Makes Ethereum Different
Ethereum is more than just a cryptocurrency. In fact, Ethereum has smart contracts. This allows users to build applications and services using its blockchain. The Catena Blockchain Suite has been built by Ottawa-based company Bitaccess.
For the NRC, every time it gives a grant not only to an individual but also to a company, what it does is share information to Bitaccess that then stores data on the blockchain tech. Every information will then be made available online. This means that Canadians will be able to see all pertinent details including date, monetary value, recipient, as well as the region. It is also possible to verify the grant information via the Transaction ID link. The Transaction ID link provides them to the database Etherscan.io.
The biggest grant that has been listed on the database was at around $11.8 million to an industry research and development project at Ryerson University.
Does it mean that Ethereum is on its way towards becoming more accepted by the public and organizations in the coming years?
