The concept of Blockchain is basically a ledger of information that is distributed to everybody on the network. Everybody agrees that the transaction happened and the data is supposed to be incredibly transparent so nothing is hidden or used for nefarious purposes.
Once a transaction is made, it is nigh impossible to reverse as enacting a change would take all of the participants who ‘agreed’ with the transaction to reverse their decision/opinion and allow a change to occur. That was require quite a cooperative effort and is seen as unfeasible.
If a certain number of participants do disagree with a transaction or the general direction of where the Blockchain is headed they can choose to ‘Fork’ the Blockchain and create a offshoot variant of the blockchain, which is a whole other can of worms I’ll explain later. It doesn’t happen often but it is a big deal with it does happen.
Blockchain was designed to keep track of data, attain ownership of their digital data, and allow people to track information instantly instead of wasting time ‘transferring’ info from place to place. It was also designed for Cryptocurrency, a digital currency that is deemed valuable because there is supposed to be a finite amount of it. I’ll also talk more about that later.
Blockchains have grown beyond their original design with developers utilizing the technology for other areas such as collectibles, real estate, digitizing physical items/objects, medical records, large consumable/item shipments, and many more ideas, concepts, and aspects being created.
Transactions on a Blockchain have become skewed from it’s original purpose and blown out of the water with fees(In cryptocurrency) often associated with transactions(Gas Fees) that have resorted to many developers creating more blockchains(Layer 2) on top of existing blockchains to circumvent these fees.
It’s all very silly and slightly ridiculous and blown out of proportion. My advice would be to look up the purpose of a Blockchain and see if it suits a goal. Every Blockchain is created with a ‘Purpose’ in mind and that should be the main reason(In my opinion) why anybody would use it.
The Blockchain/Cryptocurrency space has a stigma surrounding it with many bad actors/scammers taking advantage of the earliness of the space and the generated hype that others spouted about it but don’t let that dissuade any hopes or dreams that might arise while reading this. The technology is still growing and evolving to meet its original purpose and when it gets there the ones already in will be happy they got to figure out the Blockchain when they did.
—Ending and additional content
This is a super basic explanation of ‘Blockchain’. I think the technology has a lot going for it and I am heavily interested on the ‘Digital Ownership’ aspect that is associated with the idea.
Here is some bonus reading material.
Stay Knowledgeable!
I originally created this post on my original site before I converted to WordPress. Here it is! from June 13th 2023:
What Is Blockchain?
Simply put, it is a store of data that is chained in a chronological order according to the hundreds of witnesses connected to the Blockchain at that time. Altering a previous entry in a Blockchain is exceedingly difficult as all the participants would have to agree to decouple the chain and the connecting blocks to make that alteration. Blockchains are useful in keeping information intact and allowing participants to send information almost instantly. Many Blockchains are decentralized, every participant acting as a hub for all the info being sent and stored, and Information stored in a blockchain are generally safe from invasive companies and unscrupulous folk. When a person joins a Blockchain they are assigned a randomly generated key code created only for them to access the Blockchain. The key is unique to the participant and that is how individuals are separated on the Blockchain.
There are many types of Blockchains and knowing the ‘Proof-of’ type that makes the Blockchain work is important. There are several types that involve participants in different ways! Proof-of-Work(PoW) is a race that utilizes computer hardware(Mining) to solve an equation and to be the first one to input it. The winner is awarded and the runner-ups are given smaller amounts. Proof-of-Stake(PoS) work off of participants staking their cryptocurrency into the Blockchain for a chance of being a selected participant that decides the future of the Blockchain. Staked tokens are usually rewarded with more tokens similar to gaining interest. Proof-of-Delegated-Stake)PoDS is similar to Proof-of-Stake except the participants on the Blockchain can ‘elect’ one of the participants to shape and change the Blockchain. At anytime though, if the participants aren’t happy over the decisions the selected member has made, they can revoke the power from the individual. So knowing what type of “Proof-of” that the Blockchain foundation rests upon is important.
Blockchains can be used for many things: Exchanging finances, securing and confirming data, setting up assets linked to a specific key-holder, general security, smart contracts, and more, for either an industry or from one person to another. Many Blockchains may need a currency to enact transactions though and that is where Cryptocurrency often comes into play.
Helpful links:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/blockchain.asp – This is a good starting point for learning about what a Blockchain is and what it is fully capable of accomplishing.
https://www.investopedia.com/cryptocurrency-4427699 – Just a general overview of many subjects and topics regarding ‘Cryptocurrency’
https://www.simplilearn.com/tutorials/blockchain-tutorial/blockchain-technology – This gives another point of view about the nuances of a blockchain and how it functions.