Blockchain deserves serious examination despite cryptocurrency hype that has obscured practical applications. At its core, blockchain is a distributed ledger—a database replicated across multiple parties who don't trust each other, enabling consensus on shared state without a central authority.

Supply chain transparency is a genuine use case. Tracking products from origin to consumer requires multiple parties (manufacturers, shippers, retailers) to agree on state. Current systems use centralized databases that any single party could falsify. Blockchain enables all parties to verify transactions without trusting any individual.

Pharmaceutical supply chains benefit from transparency. Counterfeit drugs are a $500B/year problem. Blockchain tracking medicines from manufacturer through distributor through pharmacy enables verification. When a counterfeit drug appears, the chain breaks—alerting participants. VeChain and Walton Chain have real deployments.

Trade finance is another practical domain. International trade involves importers, exporters, banks, insurers, and customs authorities. Coordinating across these parties is complex. Blockchain simplifies by providing a shared ledger all trust. Maersk (shipping) and IBM developed TradeLens for container tracking.

Challenges with enterprise blockchain are substantial. Performance is often poor—Bitcoin processes 7 transactions per second, Ethereum processes more but still faces congestion. Smart contracts are programming-heavy and security-critical. Regulatory frameworks are evolving and unclear. The advantage of decentralization comes with costs in performance and complexity.

Permissioned blockchains (like Hyperledger Fabric) differ from public blockchains. Rather than anonymous participants, known organizations participate. This enables faster consensus (no proof-of-work), simpler governance, and clear accountability. Hyperledger has real deployments in healthcare, supply chain, and finance.

The network effect challenge: blockchain is most valuable when many parties participate. But getting competitors to agree on a shared platform is difficult. Regulation is unclear—blockchain transactions might have legal implications. Interoperability between blockchains remains limited.

The honest assessment: blockchain solves specific problems (distributed consensus, transparent audit trails) exceptionally well. For many enterprise problems, traditional databases work fine. The question is: do you need decentralized consensus? For most applications, the answer is no. For some specific domains (supply chain, trade finance, identity), the answer is increasingly yes. Future enterprise blockchain success depends on identifying the right problems rather than deploying blockchain everywhere.