The world has had hybrid events forced on them due to an unforeseen disaster known as Covid-19. And even after Covid is consigned to history, 73% of event planners believe these events will become even more common.

But here’s the thing. As many as 71.1% of event planners see engaging remote attendees of their hybrid events as their biggest problem. Well, there is a dynamic conversation about how to build back better. And one of the solutions is incorporating blockchain technology.

Blockchain technology is most simply defined as a decentralized, distributed ledger that records the provenance of a digital asset. It is a record of transactions, and what makes it different to one a private company might keep is that 1) A blockchain is public; 2) You can’t edit transactions on a blockchain once they’ve been confirmed.

So why is blockchain good for business? Well, blockchain increases trust, security, transparency, and the traceability of data (transactions) shared across a business network.

Although in its infancy, there was a humble $6.6 billion spent on blockchain solutions last year. And that’s estimated to rise to $19 billion in 2024!

What Can Blockchain Technology be Used For?

Before we start looking at hybrid events. Let’s get a better understanding of what blockchain is, let’s look at a few examples of how it’s used.

By now, we all know about cryptocurrency: as many as 13% of Americans alone invest in cryptocurrency, with an average investor having invested $1,003. Well, blockchain is the concept that makes it possible.

It’s not just a way to make money, but it’s gaining traction as a recognized currency. In 2021, El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender. More countries are expected to adopt cryptocurrencies as recognized currencies. Will 2022 be the year that cryptocurrency really starts to change the world?

IoT Integration: IBM is implementing the concept of blockchain through physical objects – known as IoT integration. This allows business partners to share and access vital data with each other. The benefits are numerous: it takes away the need for central control and management; each transaction can be verified to prevent disputes and build trust among all members.vFor example, in the freight industry blockchain can store the temperatures, position, arrival times, and status of shipping containers as they move.

Vaccine Manufacturing and Tracking: Sadly, fake vaccines and passports have been targeted by scammers throughout Covid-19. Blockchain has gone some way to alleviate this issue, however. Even in certified vaccine production, a blockchain pilot has reduced its time to recognize a dodgy batch in seconds instead of three days.

Digital Rights Management: Our final example is digital rights management. In short, blockchain can protect digital media from unlicensed distribution. In this process, the media is embedded with money (similar to a deposit), which risks being lost if the media is distributed illegally.

How Can Blockchain Technology Improve Hybrid Events?

Whether it’s increasing sponsorship revenue and attendance or security in the supply chain, protecting attendees and event planners from ticket fraud, or providing bespoke digital content and experiences for attendees, blockchain technology has many uses for the event industry inducing.

As we mentioned, blockchain is big business. And it’s big business with sponsors too! For example, if we look at the world’s biggest blockchain event – Blockchain Expo – they host more than 26,000 attendees. Already, it’s very alluring to sponsors.

But to sweeten the pot even further, 56% of those attendees are director level or higher. Now that’s valuable exposure you can sell! On a smaller scale, look at Paris Blockchain Week – the most prominent blockchain event in Europe – which has mustered more than 80 sponsors for an event of only 3,000 people!