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“Everyone is talking about blockchain, and no one wants to be left behind.”
— PwC 2018 Global Blockchain Survey
2018 has been a tough year for cryptocurrency investors.
Losses range from as high as 93% for Qtum to as little as 33% for EOS.
EOS, , is one of the few cryptocurrencies that earns high grades for technology and adoption.
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So, with even the most-promising cryptos seeing losses, this trading action has chased away just about all but the most-enthusiastic crypto believers.
Maybe even you, too.
I can understand the recent crypto apathy.
After all, we’ve become a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately nation.
That’s a mistake, though.
That’s because I expect cryptocurrencies to deliver huge returns down the road.
It is an even bigger mistake, however, to give up on the underlying
technology that make cryptocurrencies possible.
I’m talking about blockchain technology.
As we discussed last week, it has countless more applications beyond serving as the underlying technology for cryptocurrencies.
Blockchain technology is rapidly becoming one of the most-important, fastest-growing IT budget items for corporations all over the world.
What’s behind the blockchain fascination?
PwC, formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers, is one of the largest consulting agencies in the world. It is also one of the “Big Four” accounting firms for Corporate America. So, it has plenty of firsthand knowledge about what’s important to big business.
PwC surveyed 600 executives in 15 countries and found that 84% are currently integrating blockchain into their businesses. Some 25% of those executives have a blockchain pilot in progress … 32% have projects in development … and 20% are in the research phase.
According to Steve Davies, a partner at PwC:
“What business executives tell us is that no one wants to be left behind by blockchain — even if, at this early stage of its development, concerns on trust and regulation remain.
“A well-designed blockchain doesn’t just cut out intermediaries; it reduces costs, increases speed, reach, transparency and traceability for many business processes.”
Just about every business can benefit from the privacy and convenience of blockchain. And some industries even mandate having such protections in place for your benefit.
For example, the healthcare industry is obligated to safeguard personal information about your health. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires health professionals to protect your personal information, which is no easy task.
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Blockchain’s secure technology offers an ideal way to create a shared network of healthcare data with near-perfect security. It is simply a superior way to store, share and protect sensitive data among everybody involved in keeping you healthy.
That’s right — blockchain can untangle your mess of electronic health records and, most important of all, give YOU control of your personal medical records and who gets to see it.
What does this mean to you as an investor?
You’ll want to invest in the hospitals and insurance companies that are incorporating blockchain into their business models. After all, they’re going to kick their competitors’ butts and see their revenues and profits skyrocket.
What companies would that be? Instead of looking at hospital stocks or insurance stocks, I instead suggest that you look at the companies that are bringing blockchain technology into the healthcare industry.
Those names include IBM, Accenture (ACN), Virtusa Corp. (VRTU) and Luxoft Holding (LXFT). Each are extremely active and signing up new customers like crazy.
That doesn’t mean you should rush out and buy stock in any of those companies tomorrow morning. As always, timing is everything, so I suggest that you wait for a pullback.
Contributor,
William P. Eason
