U. S. Gov. Calls Blockchain ‘Essential’ in the Coronavirus Fight. Here’s why ...
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One of the sad realities of any crisis is the scumbags, scammers and cheats come out, looking for ways to make a fast, illegal buck.
You’ve seen the news: Hospitals and medical clinics are in desperate need of testing kits, ventilators, personal protective equipment and other crucially important medical supplies. Sadly, the coronavirus crisis is straining the ability of the global supply chain to meet demand.
And unfamiliar middlemen are jumping into the supply line trying to make a profit. The last thing we need in this crisis is for our healthcare centers to be taken advantage of. But how are hospitals — whose administrators are already stretched thin — supposed to vet and validate these middlemen and process payments?
I think the answer to these major problems will come from cryptocurrency’s Distributed Ledger Technology, also known as blockchain.
And there are four ways blockchain can help …
No. 1: Authenticity Verification: The counterfeit drugs market is estimated at $200 BILLION a year. That’s a bigger market than the heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine markets. And according to the World Health Organization, one million people die each year from those counterfeit drugs.
But just like it does for transactions in the crypto sphere, blockchain could help verify authentic, FDA-approved medications.
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No. 2: Customs Verification: Getting shipments across international borders is a complex and time-consuming task for simple products like tires or t-shirts. And that paperwork gets more complex and time consuming for highly regulated products like drugs and medical equipment.
Blockchain could streamline this procedure by verifying each shipment.
No. 3: Transportation Tracking: Some drugs require precise temperature control throughout the transportation process — from the factory to ports/airports to distribution centers to hospitals. Information stored on the blockchain and transported alongside those drugs would ensure proper storage for each.
It would also allow more accurate tracking than most curriers currently offer.
No. 4: Payments: Suppliers are insisting on cash upfront during this uncertain time. This means unfamiliar middlemen distributors can place big orders and skip out of paying the bills, as hospitals become desperate to get the medicine they need.
But transactions through blockchain are trustless. They are verified by an army of third-party participants. Hospitals wouldn’t have to open themselves up to fraud and legitimate businesses would see payment go through once a transaction was verified.
The medical industry was already starting to incorporate Distributed Ledger Technology to protect patient data and to reorganize health insurance billing/payments. After all, not only is blockchain trustless, it is decentralized. This is what provides blockchain-protected data with top-tier security.
So, the transition to rapidly incorporating blockchain technology to solve all the above supply chain issues is a natural one.
In fact, blockchain is so important to the health care industry that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security included blockchain managers in its list of “essential workers” during the coronavirus crisis. This list indicates industries and occupations that are so important, they must continue to operate even as lockdowns and quarantines are mandated to prevent further spread.
In plain English, the U.S. government just called blockchain essential to help in this crisis.
What’s this mean to you as an investor?
The companies in the healthcare and shipping industries that are incorporating blockchain into their business models will kick their competitors’ butts and see their revenues and profits skyrocket.
What companies would that be?
Your first notion might be to look at healthcare stocks. That instinct isn’t wrong exactly. But everyone is looking at healthcare stocks right now. I suggest you look instead at the companies that are helping the healthcare industry to further incorporate blockchain technology.
This means companies like IBM (IBM), Accenture (ACN) and Virtusa (VRTU), which are signing up new customers like crazy.
Sure, the above stocks have gotten hammered during this market downturn, but stock prices ultimately follow profits. And these blockchain enablers are making mountains of money.
However, 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 my buy signals in Weiss Crypto Investor.
If you haven’t joined us yet, I think you might want to consider it. Some of the fastest growing tech stocks in the world will soon be so cheap that it will be like picking up free money on the sidewalk. If you do so at the right time, based on our specific “Buy”/“Sell” recommendations.
Best Wishes,
Tony Sagami
