A cryptocurrency blockchain is similar to a bank’s balance sheet or ledger. Each currency has its own blockchain, which is an ongoing, constantly reverifying the record of every single transaction ever made using that currency.
Unlike a bank’s ledger, a crypto blockchain is distributed across participants of the digital currency’s entire network.
No company, country, or third party is in control of it; and anyone can participate. A blockchain is a breakthrough technology only recently made possible through decades of computer science and mathematical innovations.
At its most basic, a blockchain is a list of transactions that anyone can view and verify. The Bitcoin blockchain, for example, is a record of every time someone sends or receives Bitcoin. This list of transactions is fundamental for most cryptocurrencies because it enables secure payments to be made between people who don’t know each other without having to go through a third-party verifier like a bank.
Film
This is the best 6 minute video we know of to quickly and simply explain Blockchain technology.
Beyond Cryptocurrency, what can Blockchain do?
Blockchain technology is also exciting because it has many uses beyond cryptocurrency. Blockchains are being used to explore medical research, improve the sharing of healthcare records, streamline supply chains, increase privacy on the internet, and so much more.
In the future all of our digital life will be secured using Blockchain. Our passports, birth certificates, driving licences will all be on chain. The one off tickets we purchase such as plane tickets, hotels, cinema will all be an NFT held on chain. Last will and testaments, all insurances, vehicle and property ownership will all be on Blockchains to end the possibility of disputes.
Who invented Blockchain Technology?
The principles behind both bitcoin and the Bitcoin blockchain first appeared online, in a white-paper published in late 2007 by a person or group going by the name Satoshi Nakamoto.
The blockchain ledger is split across all the computers on the network, which are constantly verifying that the blockchain is accurate.This means there is no central vault, entity, or database that can be hacked, stolen, or manipulated.
Disclaimer - None of what is written on this website is financial advice and only descriptions of how the author trades and for entertainment purposes.
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