Technology
Blockchain technology
Blockchain is the digital ledger of the transactions, contracts that need to be recorded. The key feature of the Blockchain is that digital ledger is accessible across the network.
Blockchain technology allows the participants to interact directly and to make transactions across the internet without the interference of the third party. Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize businesses and make the processes secure, efficient, and transparent.
Blockchain offers a fraud-proof structure of transactions. It can be used in many spheres apart from digital currency, which is appealing to many financial institutions and organizations.
A blockchain system consists of transaction records and blocks. Transactions take place in a particular period and are stored in a block. Each block consists of a cryptographic hash that links to the previous transactions and gives rise to a compact string of transactions. The participants in the blockchain technology can see the block and verify it using the consensus algorithms. The approved data is recorded in the ledger as a block and is secured through cryptography.
Benefits of Blockchain technology
Blockchain technology has revolutionized business processes. It is a way of managing a ledger of records in a decentralized way. Blockchain technology was first implemented in 2009, and it consists of blocks that hold batches of encrypted transactions.
Here are some of the benefits of blockchain technology:
- Cost reduction –Blockchain establishes a peer to peer network in the system which cuts out the time and expense otherwise spent on the middlemen.
- Fast and easy – The transactions in a blockchain are settled in a minute, and as there is no need for another entity to process the transaction, it is convenient to use.
- Secure – As each transaction is stored in a block that links to the ones before and after it, blockchain technology is secure. Though nothing is hackproof, Blockchain technology is considered to be more secure than any other means available today.
- Transparent and immutability – Blockchain data is never stored centrally, which means that transactions are fully transparent and verifiable. Moreover, as blockchain technology is decentralized, it is difficult to corrupt the data.
Safety and security to be elaborated
A blockchain is the chain of blocks that has records of transactions. Each block is connected to the blocks before and after it, which makes it difficult to tamper with because a hacker would need to change the block containing that record and the ones linked to it to avoid detection of fraud. There are other safety characteristics as well that offer additional means of safety.
The records are secured through cryptography technique. Networkers get their own private keys which are assigned to the transactions that they make and which act as a personal digital signature. As and when the record is changed, the signature will become invalid, and peers will know right away that something is wrong. To prevent further damage, early notification is crucial.
As Blockchain is decentralized and is distributed across a peer to peer networks, it is continually updated and kept in sync. Blockchain doesn’t have a single point of failure as it cannot be charged from one computer. It needs a massive amount of computational power to access every block and alter them at the same time.
