Blockchain technology and its work

If you work in banking or investing, then you must have heard about the concept of blockchain technology along with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Blockchain has been a very popular technology/innovation of the 21st century.

Blockchains are being developed to support bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Art and medicine are two areas where bitcoin developers attempt to blend their technology.

Even when bitcoin's image was ruined due to its quick disintegration, blockchain technology also benefited by increasing its importance in real-life situations.

What is Blockchain Technology?

Blockchain may seem complicated, but it is quite easy to understand. A database is nothing more than that. A blockchain is a time-stamped series of immutable data records managed by a group of computers owned by a single entity. All these data blocks are secured and tied to each other with the help of cryptographic principles (i.e., chains).

Types of blockchain

Public blockchain.

Anyone can participate in a public or permissionless blockchain network. For example, most cryptocurrencies run on a public blockchain governed by rules or consensus algorithms.

Permission or private blockchain.

A private, or permission, blockchain allows organizations to establish control over who can access blockchain data. Only users who have been granted permission can access a specific data set. A licensed blockchain is the Oracle Blockchain Platform.

Federated or consortium blockchain.

A blockchain network where the consensus process (the mining process) is closely controlled by a pre-selected set of nodes or a pre-selected number of stakeholders.

What are the business benefits of blockchain?

The primary advantage of a blockchain is as a database to record transactions, but its benefits far outweigh traditional databases. Most notably, it removes the possibility of tampering by a malicious actor, as well as provides these commercial benefits:

Time-saving. Transaction times are reduced from days to minutes thanks to blockchain technology. In addition, transaction settlement is faster as it does not require verification by a central authority.

Cost savings. Transactions require less monitoring. Participants can directly exchange items of value. Blockchain eliminates effort duplication because participants have access to a shared ledger.

Tight security. The security features of blockchain prevent tampering, fraud, and cybercrime.

Features of blockchains

Public ledger distributed ledger

The public distributed ledger exists in the blockchain. This is because if only one person has access to this data and tampers with it, no one will notice. And since everyone has access to this information, anyone who changes it will be notified.

Everyone has access to the blockchain's data and can view the entire history of transactions up to the day the blockchain was formed. Since any changes made to the blockchain are irreversible, the consent of the majority of network members is required. Once the document is changed, no changes can be made; Once a transaction is completed, it cannot be changed or modified.

Hash inscription

A hash is a function that satisfies the encryption requirement of a blockchain computation. The hash length is predetermined, making it impossible for anyone to know the exact length of the blockchain if they try to hack it.

Because the hash value cannot be reversed to obtain plain text, hash encryption protects confidential or sensitive information shared between two parties. In addition, passwords are hashed so that even in error, the information is protected by a PIN.

Mining 

Mining is the process of adding blocks to the blockchain. This miner was the first to discover a nonce value that met the target criteria. Miners are rewarded with 12.5 Bitcoins for each added block. This reward is reduced every fourth year, resulting in the miner receiving 6.25 bitcoins, as explained in the video below. Blockchain mining is a costly activity that consumes a significant amount of electricity, computing power and other resources that the miner has invested in.

How does blockchain technology work?

Blockchains are records of transactions in the past. Each block is "chained" to the previous block in a sequence and is irreversibly recorded in a peer-to-peer network. Cryptographic trust and assurance technology identify every transaction with a unique identifier or digital fingerprint.

Trust, accountability, transparency and security are forged in the chain. This enables various organizations and business partners to access and share data, a phenomenon is known as third-party, consensus-based trust.

All participants maintain an encrypted record of each transaction within a decentralized, highly scalable and flexible recording mechanism that cannot be denied. As a result, blockchain does not require any additional overhead or middlemen. In addition, having a decentralized, single source of truth reduces the cost of executing reliable business negotiations between parties that cannot fully trust each other. In a permissioned blockchain used by most enterprises, participants are authorized to participate in the network, and each participant keeps an encrypted transaction record.

Any company or group that requires a secure, real-time, shareable record of transactions can benefit from this unique technology. In addition, there is no single location where everything is stored, leading to better security and availability, with no central point of vulnerability.

Here are some key definitions to learn about blockchain, its underlying technology and use cases.

Decentralized Trust

Organizations mainly use blockchain technology instead of other data stores to guarantee data integrity without relying on a central authority. The process of decentralized trust through trusted data is called decentralized trust.

Blockchain Block

The name blockchain comes from storing data in blocks, and each block is linked to the previous block, forming a chained structure. Adding blocks to a blockchain is the only way to update it with blockchain technology. You cannot modify or delete any blocks once they have been added to the Blockchain.

Consensus Algorithm

Algorithms that enforce rules within a blockchain system. Once the participating parties establish rules for the blockchain, the consensus algorithm ensures those rules are followed.

Blockchain nodes

Blockchain data blocks are stored on nodes—storage units that keep data in sync or up to date. Any node can quickly determine if a block has changed after it has been added. As soon as a new, full node joins the blockchain network, it downloads a copy of all the blocks. After the new node is synchronized with other nodes and has the latest blockchain version, it can receive any new block just like other nodes.

There are two main types of blockchain nodes:

• Full nodes store a complete copy of the blockchain.
• Lightweight nodes store only the most recent blocks and can request older blocks when users need them.

Conclusion

Blockchains are growing over time, introducing new developments such as smart contracts, which have proven extremely useful. Blockchain is a technology that has attracted many people because of its successful operation.

As a result, sooner or later, individuals realized that it could also be applied to other areas such as e-notaries, medical records and tax calculations. In addition, blockchains are known for making it easy to transact without the involvement of third parties like e-wallets and banks.

Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that work on the blockchain. Because of the blockchain, cryptocurrencies are impervious to counterfeiting, protected by strong and complex encryption, and do not require a central authority. Therefore blockchain is preferred for secure transactions.