The definition of Blockchain technology

The basis of the blockchain technology lies behind great minds of a group of people termed as Santoshi Nakamoto. Since its invention, the technology has gradually grown into something bigger and greater. But the query still holds; what is this so called blockchain technology?

Currently, blockchain technology is the talk of the day for everyone. It is simply termed as a huge time-stamped amount of data that is under the control of a number of computers whose ownership is not personal. Blockchain therefore refers to the way information is transferred from a source to a target in a protected and automated manner. The chains of data are individually protected and connected to each other using the principles of cryptography.The technology is slowly becoming a great stronghold for a new kind of internet. This is based on the fact that it can allow the sharing and distribution of digital information. The technology solely bases on distribution but not copying of information. And therefore, it is undeniably going to strike its peaks in regards to technological enhancement. A better example of its application is the famously known digital currency, Bitcoin. Bitcoin is definitely the reason behind the creation of blockchain technology. The technology has now extended its roots and is fast-growing to attain a broad area in the tech field by acquiring potential uses.

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History of Block chain

Like any other development or technology, Block chain has its own history too. Its history is basically classified into stages. The stages are as follows;

Digital currencies and Bitcoins

Santoshi Nakamoto, the well-known developer of bitcoin, outlined and came up with bitcoin which greatly relies on blockchain technology. A good number of technical developers still believe that blockchain technology can be adjusted to suit digital currency and bring a great advancement in the same field. Earlier on, blockchain provided a better environment of a ledger that can be shared publicly and supports a cryptocurrency network. According to the idea of the bitcoin developer, a blockchain uses one-megabyte block of information entailing business transactions. A link between the blocks has to be created through using a complex process that is cryptographic. This is the process of verifying information by forming an immutable chain. In the earlier stages of development of Bitcoin, many people thought of it having the same function to that of Blockchain. Blockchain technology is the basis that powers a good number of applications and also stands out as the technology underlying Bitcoin. Bitcoin came into existence and shook the world with a number of applications that have been growing and improving on a daily basis. Satoshi, the founder of blockchain came up with a block from which other blocks were derived until the formation of huge chains of information.

Indeed, the technology set up a basis that is being used up to date.

Smart Contracts

Smart contracts are those that can manage themselves on a block chain. After some period of time, developers began thinking beyond the borders and realized that the blockchain technology could not be used only on document transactions but also a number of fields that were applicable in this area. This field could range from trust agreements to assets of companies and individuals. A better instance is that of the innovation that was brought about by ethereum. By 2015, Ethereum was already in action, thanks to the famous contributing developer of Bitcoin, Buterin. The platform has successfully developed a wonderful niche of developers and has succeeded in coming up with a powerful ecosystem. The platform is currently doing better with a great number of different transactions being done on a daily basis. This event was purely the start of smart contracts. Normally, contracts in the business field are under the management of two or more separate parties. Smart contracts involve self-management and if any instances of achieving a desired goal arises, the contracts adjust accordingly. This process does not involve the input of other outside entities. To date, analysts remain optimistic that the harnessing of potential contracts can be enhanced more and more.

The future

The future of blockchain technology greatly relies on what the developers are working on to enhance it. The huge problem that lies in this field is the issue of scalability. A better example is an instance where Bitcoin encounters problems through transaction processing moments. A number of currencies in the digital platform have made efforts resolving the issue but have come up with various success levels. Therefore, scalability is likely to be one of the key concerns that will raise an alarm in enhancement of the blockchain technology. The future of blockchain technology seems exceedingly powerful and wonderful. Projects to address the cons of bitcoin technology are heavily being put into place. Features to improve the technology are also being discovered timely. The NEO is one of the applications of blockchain technology and termed as the very first open source and blockcahin platform that was decentralized. Huge companies like Microsoft and others have in a way started adopting the use of blockchain technology.

A lot of discoveries and applications of blockchain technology are being implemented. This signifies how the technology is going to grow widely in the near future. Let’s all be careful to watch the technology rising and unfolding itself world-wide.

The specificity of Blockchain technology

The definition of blockchain network rhymes with that of a democratic system of governance. This is because of its free and undictated nature. The content and huge amounts of data within the blockchain network is open to any other person and therefore any development on blockchain stresses on transparency and accountability of actions.

Blockchain Structure

From the earlier definition, blockchain is a protected peer to peer shared ledger that is quite safe for keeping and recording large amounts of data based on transactions. In other terms, the blockchain can be regarded as a network that runs atop internet. Its structure allows exchange of all kinds of transactions with no central server or point. Here, everyone has access to the contents of the database shared. Those who can access should also be within the network.

The management of the database is automated and solely relies on the peer-to-peer network technique and the use of a time stamping server. The arrangement of blocks is in such a way that each block references the contents of the initial block. Blocks form a blockchain and are responsible for holding a collection of transactions. The approval of the batches of transactions lies in the hands of the members on the network.

Additionally, each and every block is assigned a cryptographic hash of the previous block. Hence a slight change in one block brings a huge detectable change in the next block. Clearly, mistrust will be curbed and transparency will be highly upheld.

The pillars of Blockchain technology

There are basically three pillars that have grounded and kept blockchain technology in place. These have made the technology to spread widely and even gain credit in the technological sector. Let us discuss them one after the other.

Immutability

In regards to a blockchain environment, immutability can be simply defined as the inability to tamper or make undesirable changes to something that is within the blockchain. Seems wonderful! Right? Therefore, this has a very powerful implication to transparency and stands out as a value to cherish by each and every financial institution. It is through this that instances of fund and resource embezzlement will be fully eradicated. This is definitely an advantage that is valuable to the side of companies and banking institutions.

This property of blockchain technology is based on the cryptographic hash function. This majorly relies on the hashing process.

Decentralization

A good number of centralized services were a reliable resource before the existence of Bitcoin. In this, an entity at a central point had the privileges of storing all the data and therefore the need of interacting with the centralized entity to acquire your desired information. A better instance of this technology is the client-server model and the banking system.

The use of centralized services has really played a greater role in serving us for a longer period of time. The systems are prone to a number of vulnerabilities;

They are a target for malicious potential hackers

Difficulties in upgrading the system software

Greater impact when the centralized system fails

The system of decentralization is a quite unique idea as every person owns the information on the network. In this system, it is not a guarantee to use a third party in order to communicate to a friend or client, all you need is to directly access them and communicate to them.

With this decentralized system, you are privileged to handle your money all alone. You have the privileges of choosing to send money to any other person without using the bank.

Transparency

Transparency is one of the most amazing concepts under the blockchain technology. It is a powerful pillar that is always misunderstood by many. The misunderstanding comes in because of the technology’s ability to offer both transparency and privacy at the same time. Complex cryptography helps to make the identity of a person hidden though represented by a public address. There is security in the identity of the real person and transactions done by the person can still be seen. It is actually one of the most excellent of transparency that has been acquired. Furthermore, accountability and honesty are highly upheld in this technology since all the information will be readily available to the public.