This article appeared in Cybersecurity Law & Strategy, an ALM publication for privacy and security professionals, Chief Information Security Officers, Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Corporate Counsel, Internet and Tech Practitioners, In-House Counsel. Visit the website to learn more.

There is a lot of excitement—and a lot of hype—around blockchain, the emerging technology that helped launch Bitcoin and that is now being touted as a potential solution to a myriad of business challenges across a wide spectrum of industries. While inflated expectations abound, the advertising industry is emerging as one of the more immediate, substantive and compelling use cases for blockchain technology. Use cases for the advertising industry may not seem as disruptive or obvious to those who are unfamiliar with the digital media market, but to advertising industry professionals, blockchain has even more transformative potential than it does in industries such as remittances, capital markets, food supply chain and government services. Unlike other industries, the real impact of blockchain on the advertising industry is likely to occur “behind the scenes” in ways that may very well go undetected by most consumers. In many respects, this can be taken as a sign that the use cases are more practical and real.