![blockchain-3277336_1280.png](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmfAi3uJ9hwpNtZj2KLT6fjbZWJChJbE39qd8GFZ1ECrS9/blockchain-3277336_1280.png)

Blockchains are a pretty big deal. It was a buzz word that a lot of companies were throwing around in 2017 to bring attention to themselves and raise funds but the technology is actually incredible and will phase in the next era of the internet. The reason it is such a massive step forward is it gives us two things that the internet has been missing: scarcity of goods and trust. This tech lets us have cryptocurrencies, digital assets that can have value as there is only a finite number of them issued, but the opportunities to stop there.

**BEFORE WE GO FURTHER I WANT TO ADD THAT INVESTING IN CRYPTOCURRENCY IS VERY RISKY. ALL COINS CAN GO TO 0 SO PLEASE ONLY INVEST WITH MONEY YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOSE**

**Digital Scarcity**

At first you might not think this is a big deal but really it is ground-breaking when you think of the implications of it. With blockchain technology you can make an item online be rare. This might seem like an odd concept as the internet is known for making copy after copy of whatever is uploaded. But with blockchain you can create assets that are tracked and numbered on a blockchain and thus made rare. This is why bitcoin and other coins can have value as there is only so many of them and you cannot just make more bitcoins. You are able to copy the code to make your own coin or hard fork bitcoin to make another blockchain but the bitcoin blockchain will still be unchanged and your coin will not be accepted at the the same places that bitcoin is. To put it another way think of each coin it like a painting by an artist. Each painting is an original work that the systems knows is from a specific artist. These paintings can be forged by others but they cannot replace the original and every one can tell they are fake.

With this is mind think of all the possibilities of what you can create online. This gives us digital in-game items that can have a limited number to them that people can trade for. Now you own your items in-game and that rare sword you hold really is a 1 of a hundred item. You can post artwork and photography on a blockchain and have only so many copies of them for people to buy. You can use this technology to track goods in the supply world. You can create a system of loyalty points that cannot be altered or created. You can even use this technology to battle fake news and as a news story can be put on a blockchain and be a verified source. Literally anything that involves a digital economy or type of transaction can use this technology to make rare goods and create a new internet with unlimited possibilities.

**Replacing The Need For Third Party Trust**

The other major improvement that this technology gives us is the ability to replace the need for third party trust. When you deal with digital money from a bank there needs to be people to verify and process transactions. But since a blockchain is a public, immutable ledger, transactions can be processed without trust. When person A sends goods to person B it gets recorded on the blockchain that it is sent on and anyone on the network can verify it. This leads to an open system of trust where people can see the network is working. You can also set up a smart contract to make sure that funds are released when a condition is reached. You do not need a third party to watch and verify the deal as the technology can know be setup to do it for you. This will save a lot of money on processing fees and allow a more efficient system of transactions for websites.

When the internet first started it was not see as a big deal by many as it was only a way to send messages. Many people thought, I have a phone that can do this. But when you think about what it really means to communicate with 1s and 0s you start to see the world of possibilities that arise. It is the same thing with blockchain technology. When you consider all the ways a system of digital rarity and trust can be used to start to see how a new world emerge.