What is Blockchain ?
What is Blockchain ?
A Blockchain, a growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and a transaction data. Blockchain technology is simply defined as a decentralized, distributed ledger which records the provenance of a digital asset.
Technically, a blockchain is a linked list of blocks where a block is a group of ordered transactions. The main difference of a blockchain from a normal database is that there are specific rules on how to put data into the database. That means, it cannot conflict with the data that is already on the database, it’s immutable and the data itself is locked to the owner. Blockchain is replicable, available.and decentralised.
Blockchain by it’s design, it is resistant to modification of the data. It is an open, distributed ledger which can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way.
For using as a distributed ledger, a blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for inter-node communication and for validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in the given block cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks, which requires consensus of the network majority.
Though blockchain records are not unalterable, they may be considered secure by the design and exemplify a distributed computing system with high Byzantine fault tolerance. Decentralized consensus has therefore been claimed with a blockchain.
Blockchain allows the participants to verify and audit the transactions independently and relatively inexpensively. A blockchain database is managed autonomously using a peer-to-peer network and a distributed timestamping server. They are
authenticated by mass collaboration powered by collective self-interests.
Blockchain can be used to create a permanent, public, transparent ledger system for compiling data on sales, tracking digital use and payments to content creators, such as wireless users or musicians. In the year 2017, IBM partnered with ASCAP and PRS for Music to adopt blockchain technology in music distribution.
Imogen Heap’s Mycelia service has also been proposed as blockchain-based alternative that gives artists the more control over how their songs and associated data circulate among the fans and the other musicians.
New distribution methods are available for the insurance industry such as peer-to-peer insurance, parametric insurance and microinsurance following the adoption of blockchain. The sharing economy and IoT are also set to benefit from the blockchains because they involve more in collaborating peers.
Online voting is another application of the blockchain. The use of blockchain in the libraries is being studied with a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.