1. Future Concepts
What is Blockchain?
Blockchain is a technology that can allow individuals and companies to make instantaneous transactions on a network without any middlemen.
Transactions made on blockchain are completely secure, and, by function of blockchain technology, are kept as a record of what happened.
Cryptographic encryption algorithms ensure that no record of a transaction on blockchain can be altered after the fact.
Put simply it is a chain of blocks that contain information. A block contains data, its hash, and the hash of the previous block.
Data: The data stored depends on the type of block. For example with a cryptocurrency it might contain information on the sender, receiver, and the amount of the transaction.
Its hash: Once a block is created the hash is calculated. The hash is unique, basically it is the fingerprint for the block. It identifies both the block and its contents.
Hash: Hash of the previous block.
Example of a Blockchain Transaction
Let’s say that the lemonade stands in a town are all using blockchain technology to process transactions.
- Say John buys a lemonade from Sandy’s lemonade stand. On John’s copy of the blockchain, he marks that transaction down: “John bought Lemonade from Sandy, for €2.” His copy gets spread around town to all the lemonade stands and lemonade buyers, who add this transaction to their own copies. By the time John has finished drinking that lemonade, everyone’s blockchain ledger shows that he bought his lemonade from Sandy for €2.
- Verification: In reality, everybody else wasn’t just adding his new block of data…. They were verifying it. If his transaction had said, “John bought Lemonade from Rishi, €500,” then somebody else would have (automatically!) flagged that transaction. Maybe Rishi isn’t an accredited lemonade salesperson in town, or everybody knows that that price is way too high for a single lemonade. Either way, John’s copy of the blockchain ledger isn’t accepted by everyone, because it doesn’t sync up with the rules of their blockchain
Key Benefits
INSTANTANEOUS
Blockchains built for speed can process and verify transactions more quickly than the alternative systems. This might seem counterintuitive, because the lemonade example makes it sound like everyone has to copy everything that happens to the chain. But in actuality, these transactions can get processed by computers in milliseconds
TRANSPARENT
Since everyone in a blockchain network has access to the ledger and the rulebook, nobody involved gets left behind. You can see who owned or paid or gave or did what, at various points in time, whenever you want or need. It’s a totally transparent system
PEER- 2- PEER SECURITY
Communication occurs directly between peers without a central authority or middle man. Since everyone has a copy of the ledger that they use to validate the newest version, it’s a democratically secured system, too. There’s no single company or agency with extra power. Everyone is in charge
REAL WORLD USE OF BLOCKCHAIN
Maersk
Has blockchain based projects for maritime logistics to explore potential cost savings. This is due to the expense of verifying freight documents which is sometimes more costly than the shipping. This expensive process involves over 200 persons that includes agents, government officials, and agencies
DeBeers
Uses the technology to track the import and sale of diamonds.
Farm to Fork Traceability
With blockchain technology if something is contaminated you can now destroy specific batches and not everything, which has been the normal practice