A Comprehensive Review of Blockchain Applications across Diverse Domains

Abstract

Blockchain technology has emerged as a disruptive force with transformative potential across multiple industries. This comprehensive review examines blockchain applications in finance, healthcare, supply chain, government, and emerging sectors, while analyzing key challenges and future directions. The study reveals how blockchain's core features - decentralization, transparency, and immutability - address critical pain points including financial intermediation, data security, provenance tracking, and bureaucratic inefficiencies. Notable implementations demonstrate 90% reductions in land registry disputes, 97% faster food traceability, and new paradigms for digital identity management. However, significant barriers persist, particularly regarding scalability limitations, excessive energy consumption, regulatory uncertainty, and interoperability issues between competing platforms. The review highlights promising convergence with AI and IoT, yielding innovative solutions in smart contracts and asset tokenization. Future research directions emphasize the need for quantum-resistant cryptography, energy-efficient consensus mechanisms, and standardized frameworks to facilitate mainstream adoption. For practitioners, the findings suggest a strategic approach favoring hybrid models that combine blockchain with legacy systems, while policymakers must balance innovation with consumer protection. As blockchain transitions from experimental technology to enterprise infrastructure, its ultimate value may lie in enabling trust-minimized systems and redistributing power from centralized intermediaries to network participants. This analysis provides both a structured assessment of current applications and a forward-looking perspective on blockchain's evolving role in the digital economy.

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