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Community Blog What is a blockchain?

What is a blockchain?

In this article, I explain what is a blockchain, where it does come from, its advantages and its disadvantages.

What is a blockchain?

A blockchain is a distributed database of transactions, validated and maintained by a network of computers called nodes.

The blockchain is a decentralized network. It is based on a P2P (Peer-to-Peer) system.
Transactions are recorded in an efficient, verifiable and robust way. But nobody controls these transactions.

Where does the name blockchain come from?

A blockchain is a chain of blocks. Each block contains a list of transactions and a pointer to the previous block. This pointer takes the form of a hash which ensures that the data in the blocks cannot be falsified.

The first block in the chain is called the genesis block.

By tracing the history of the chain, we can see who had what amount of money.

What is the link between a blockchain and a crypto-currency?

A blockchain is a decentralized record, or ledger, of transactions made on the blockchain network.

Crypto-currency is the medium of exchange based on the blockchain.

What are the advantages of a blockchain?

First of all, the token associated with the blockchain can be exchanged for a real value. Then, the transactions are immutable. They cannot be modified thanks to the use of a cryptographic hash function.

Moreover, the blockchain is decentralized. The data is therefore shared directly between peers, without going through a trusted third party.

Moreover, the blockchain allows to reduce processing times in a general way. Thus, an inter-border transfer can be done much faster, even if the transaction time of a blockchain is much longer than the transaction time of a credit card.

And in a broader sense, the blockchain makes it possible to eliminate intermediaries. This elimination of intermediaries reduces transaction costs.

The blockchain has an extremely high fault tolerance. 

Then, transactions are public. They are therefore verifiable by anyone. This brings transparency and security.

And if the blockchain supports smart contracts, it can automate business processes. The blockchain opens up new uses, such as monitoring quality assurance. One example is food safety recall.

What are the drawbacks of a blockchain?

Blockchains are not perfect. They are new and can get bad publicity because they are sometimes still associated with scams.

Blockchain is constantly evolving, especially in order to solve scalability issues. These problems will have to be solved before a much broader evolution of blockchains.

The speed of transaction is still too often slow even if some blockchains have brought a solution.

By Bruno Delb

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Bruno Delb

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Bruno Delb

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