Abstract
In the difficult times of history, human beings sought a solution to the crisis by using the existing technological facilities outside of the structure used until that day or by further developing the technology. The COVID-19 outbreak, which affected the whole world in 2020, also increased the diversity and use of blockchain applications. The first coronavirus case in China and then declaration of COVID-19 by the World Health Organization as a pandemic caused countries to be extremely unprepared for this epidemic. The fact that the pandemic is felt in almost every area of daily life has forced individuals to digitalize their daily work and habits. In this study, the existing and innovative blockchain applications developed against the epidemic during the pandemic process will be discussed, and possible future opportunities will be mentioned.
TopBackground
Throughout history, in times of crisis individuals try to find a solution using existing technology or by developing new technology. The Covid-19 outbreak increased the diversity and use of blockchain applications. Blockchain technology, which entered our lives with a digital currency named Bitcoin, is more than a simple cryptocurrency. Blockchain applications are integrated into existing business processes by being efficient, fast, accessible from anywhere, and secure due to their transparent, reliable, undeniable, and decentralized features.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Blockchain: It is a transparent, auditable, decentralized, anonymized next-generation data network consisting of blocks attached to each other with a chain structure, where one block contains the summary of the previous block.
Decentralization: The situation where data is available at all nodes in the network instead of a single center.
Internet of Things (IoT): Devices that have internet access and contain various sensors in their structure.
PoW: Proof-of-Work is a method in which the computer proves that it has worked for a specified job. It is the consensus protocol used in the Bitcoin network.
Distributed ledger: It is the infrastructure in which encrypted and distributed data is stored in a decentralized manner. It is also a database spread and synchronized over a network of multiple nodes, institutions, or geographies.