There are more developers on Ethereum than on any other blockchain. Smart contracts, infrastructure, and DeFi ecosystems continue to attract full-time developers. By and large, ETH is approaching the size of renowned open-source projects like Apache, yet it has enough space to grow. As more mainstream businesses are adopting blockchain technology, there’s a discernible preference for Ethereum. For instance, J.P. Morgan, the largest bank in the US, used Ethereum to launch digital USD. Earlier this year, the financial institution made a sensational entrance into the metaverse by opening a virtual lounge on Decentraland.
People seem to think that small businesses powered by Ethereum is a distant dream. The truth is that blockchain technology isn’t just for the big boys. Innovation isn’t limited to the Amazons of the world. Each organization has the power to advance uses for ETH. As Ethereum continues to evolve, so will the applications that businesses can implement. Here’s a summary of a few beneficial use cases and functionalities of ETH, which you can use to power your business.
Raise Funds Through Blockchain Investors
To expand your business into new markets or locations, you need to raise external capital. Having access to cash means the difference between expanding and staying behind (or being left in the lurch). Banks are notorious for denying loans to small businesses. Through an initial coin offering (ICO), you can raise funding without much difficulty using cryptocurrency. You can exchange cash or cryptocurrency for the digital tokens that you’ve created. There are no limitations whatsoever, which translates into the fact that you can raise money from investors across the world in a short time period.
For launching an ICO, some technical milestones need to be addressed. You need a winning business plan, a well-written white paper, and an effective marketing campaign. A token has to be created. Set the name of your token, its symbol, and the decimal to use. Figure out how many tokens will exist overall. The tokens can be accessed immediately after the ICO ends. Attention must be paid to the fact that you can apply various codes to freeze client contracts in case of an emergency. Investors will want to monitor your progress, so keep lines of communication open.
Ensure The Safety of Transactions for Your Business
Making transactions online is commonplace for consumers. Even if you have safeguards in place, the Internet is susceptible to new threats. Given that the risk of data breaches and cyberattacks is inevitable, take advantage of the Ethereum blockchain. Transactions become safe, secure, and fast. The ETH protocol is about as safe as it can get. It establishes a peer-to-peer network that tenaciously executes and verifies application code – what we call smart contracts. The transaction records are unalterable, verifiable, and securely distributed across the network. You can form consortia with private transaction layers. Private data is never broadcasted to network participants.
Integrating an Ethereum payment gateway is simple enough. The procedure involves the use of smart contracts, which we’ve discussed earlier. They deliver greater transparency across the supply chain and help get goods/services to their intended destinations faster. People will feel more comfortable and more likely to shop from you if they feel payments are safer from attacks. A virtual third party can enforce some of the terms of the contract. They take the details as input, assign value to those inputs, and execute the actions needed.
Tokenize Real-World Assets Like Company Shares
You can create tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, which represent either digital or physical assets. Asset-backed tokens provide several advantages, including but not limited to end-to-end asset traceability, complying with the global, country- and industry-specific standards and regulations, automated record keeping, and peer-to-peer asset trading. Tokenizing company shares increases liquidity and makes the process more convenient for investors. Since the shares are based on a blockchain, they can only be bought and traded on a cryptocurrency exchange like Binance. Those who hold shares own derivatives that are backed by the actual shares.
Unfortunately, asset tokenization isn’t a straightforward process. If you want to bypass the hurdles, tokenize the entire company on the Ethereum blockchain. This way, you can give compliant ownership to investors, who can buy, sell, trade, or merge tokenized assets. You can move away from monolithic assets, such as real estate, and expand your line of products. For example, you can sell original art and prints. Non-fungible tokens allow you to tokenize things like art, collectibles, and so on. It’s up to you to decide the scarcity of your assets.
Sign Contracts Instantly with Partners and Clients
By nature, contracts aren’t user-friendly. Not only is the language complicated, but also the structure is hard to process. Still, contracts need to be signed, sealed, and delivered. If you’re fed up with visits to partners/providers, printing pages, signing them, scanning them, and emailing them back, move on to smart contracts. They’re written in programming languages such as Solidity and Go. Most importantly, smart contracts are irreversible, so they come in handy. They don’t require any intermediaries, so you pay no fees. Common areas of application for smart contracts are tax records, supply chain, authorship rights, and health care.
The only limit is your imagination when it comes to smart contracts. The person creating the smart contract needs to pay close attention to the code, as any mistake can affect the entire chain. Bugs can be remedied, but it’s better to exercise caution. It’s recommended to test the ETH smart contract. Try to transfer some tokens to another wallet and check the balance on that address. Finally, yet importantly, get the total supply. If everything goes well, you’re ready to use the smart contract. If you need a starter tutorial, head over to ethereum.org.
Amid the hype surrounding Ethereum, it’s hard to ignore the technology behind it. Its potential and applications could be limitless, without exaggeration. It’s believed that Ethereum 2.0 will be one of the most gigantic changes in crypto space. Well, it remains to be seen.