We might live in emotional times, but it's important to stay in control. Mark Douglas' excellent Trading In The Zone - picked as a top trading book here - demonstrates how learning to control emotions is key to success when dealing in the markets. The same applies now to technological advances and the need to apply them with a clear head.

Indeed, the coronavirus crisis has created an urgent need for innovation. That need is being fulfilled by blockchain technology - with advocates able to put into practice some of the benefits they've been extolling for years. 

These might be trying times emotionally - but it's important for people to realise how blockchain can help - and is helping...

Allowing businesses to continue in lockdown

Whatever your business, whatever your industry - technological solutions have taken on a renewed importance in the corona-era. With more people than ever working from home companies need to find ways in which they can work quickly, effectively and safely. 

The difficulty here is financial. Creating and disseminating paperwork throughout a supply chain is tricky - but blockchain-based flows can solve this. 

In order to keep the wheels of the economy moving, businesses need solutions they can plug in and use right away. As Alisia di Caprio recently wrote: "In 2020, the world is looking for shovel-ready digital solutions. And the solutions that fit the criteria - electronic issuance and transfer, regulatory approval, trade-ready - are on blockchain."

Tracking and monitoring

Blockchain's influence is also able to be felt more directly when it comes to tracking and monitoring the virus. Countries who want to get back to some normality feel it's going to be vital that a method is developed to closely monitor the population in a way never attempted before. The method needs to be accurate enough to work - while also offering assurance that the user's data is going to be safe.

In Germany, MYNXG has developed an app which allows users to connect to its blockchain with an NFC reader. Officials can use this connection to track the virus and gain insight into its spread - and users get the benefit of an alert if there's a risk of infection nearby. All of this is done without the need to share personal information.

Bernd Moeller, founder and CEO of MYNXG, explained: "This technology is revolutionary and years ahead of anything else. My entire life has been dedicated to developing mobile technology, ranging from smartphone architectures, global 4G standards to secure mobile payments. MYNXG is normally focused on developing industrial solutions, but when the first signs of the Covid-19 pandemic appeared, we checked how we could utilize our technologies to save lives."

Building a safer future

It's not just in the here and now either. This crisis has thrown light on the need for borderless solutions to the planet's problems. That means decentralized technology using secure networks that can help to identify the next crisis and, if possible, work quicker to mitigate its spread. It also means technology that could assist the 'track and tracing' of medical supplies. 

As Fin Extra notes: "Here blockchain could offer ways to improve many public health activities associated with preventing and controlling diseases. Blockchain powered solutions could address and tackle various aspects of the issue. Blockchain technology has the ability to improve health, access to information, supply chains and many more.

"These expectations are based on the key aspects of blockchain technology, such as decentralized management, immutable audit trails, data provenance, and robustness. Additionally, multiple nodes in a permissioned blockchain have the ability to share and report vital data instantly, while complying with data privacy and security regulation."

Whether it's in the short, medium or long term - blockchain technology underpins the urgent solutions we need for a safer planet. It's time for policymakers to act with a clear head and put these solutions to use to bring about real, positive, change.