Ask HN: What are real-life useful use-cases for blockchain (not currencies)?
The biggest use case I have found of blockchain tech is timestamping, especially in a case where the timestamping party cannot be trusted to act honestly because of conflicting interests.<p>I&#x27;ll give you an example, from one of my startup&#x27;s enterprise customers. This company needs to ensure that their high-end auto inventory remains in the same state through transport — the mileage, the car body, etc. They&#x27;ve had issues with transporters taking these high-end cars for joyrides, and it&#x27;s hard to detect when this happens.<p>Our solution lets the transporter timestamp the odometer reading and car body with photos at time of pickup, on a blockchain. When the car is dropped off, it&#x27;s just a matter of comparing the blockchain record with the car&#x27;s actual state. Our system lets many parties who don&#x27;t know or trust each other view the same &quot;shared state&quot; on a public blockchain ledger (Stellar), enforcing between these parties.<p>We provide a similar service for researchers who want to prove they were the first ones to make a discovery. You can read more about that at <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;assembl.net" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;assembl.net</a>.<p>Edit: You can try our timestamping app (still in beta so excuse some kinks) online at <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;app.assembl.net" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;app.assembl.net</a>. I would love to hear your thoughts!