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What is blockchain in 2022

Blockchain  in 2022 is the backbone of the technology of digital cryptocurrency bitcoin. It maintains all the transactions or digital events that have been executed and shared among participating parties. It contains every single record of each transaction. Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency an example of the blockchain. This technology first came to light when a person or group of individuals named ‘satoshi Nakamoto’ published a white paper on “Bitcoin”. This technology records transactions in a digital ledger which is distributed over the network. Anything of value like assets, cars. can be recorded on a blockchain as a transaction.

History of blockchain

Blockchain has the potential to grow to be a bedrock of the worldwide record-keeping but was launched just 10years ago. It was created by the unknown persons behind the online cash currency bitcoin, under Satoshi Nakamoto. It started on firstly in 1991 and 2014. This technology is separated from the currency and its potential for other financial, inter-organizational transactions is explored.

There are four types of blockchain structures

1-Public

2-Private

3-Consortium

4-Hybrid

1-Public

Public blockchains are permissionless in nature, allow anyone to join, and are completely decentralized. Public allow all nodes of blockchain to have equal rights to access the blockchain, create new blocks of data, and validate blocks of data.

2- Private(or Managed)

In private which may also be referred to as managed blockchains controlled by a single organization. In a private ,the central authority determines who can be a node. some examples of private blockchains are the business-to-business virtual currency exchange network Ripple and Hyperedge.

3- Consortium

Consortium blockchains are permissioned blockchains governed by a group of organizations, rather than one entity, as in the case of the private blockchain. consortium blockchains enjoy more decentralization than private blockchains, resulting in higher levels of security.

4- Hybrid

Hybrid chains are controlled by a single organization, but with a level of oversight performed by the public blockchain, which is required to perform certain transaction validations. for example of hybrid blockchain is IBM food trust.

Benefits of blockchains

1- Trust

It creates trust between different entities where trust is either nonexistent or unproven. The enablement of trust is one blockchain most cited benefits. Its value is evident in early blockchain use cases that facilitated transactions among entities that didn’t have direct relationships yet still had to share data or payments.

2- Decentralized structure

It really proves its value when there’s no central actor who enables trust, explained Daniel Field, head of the blockchain at UST, a global provider of digital technology and services. the supply chain is a case in point: Multiple businesses from supplier and transportations companies to producers, distributors and retailers.

3- Improved security and privacy

Improvement in security and privacy is very important. so it is another leading benefit of this emerging technology. the enhanced security offered by blockchain stems from how the technology actual works.

4- Reduced costs

It’s nature also can cut costs for organizations. It creates efficiencies in processing transactions. It also reduces manual tasks such as aggregating and amending data, as well as easing reporting and auditing processes.

5- Speed

It can handle transactions significantly faster than conventional methods. In some cases, blockchain can handle a transaction in seconds or less. this chain based system can process transactions depending on multiple factors, such as how large each block of data is and network traffic.

6- Individual control of data

Blockchain enables an unprecedented amount of individual control over one’s own digital data. the technology inherently protects the data that belongs to you while allowing you to control it.

Conclusion

Blockchain technology creates a permanent and immutable record of every transaction. This is digital ledger makes fraud, hacking, data theft, and information loss impossible. while this technology has reshaped and decentralized financial institutions, The technology will affect every industry in the world, including manufacturing, retail, transportation, healthcare, and real estate companies as Google, IBM, Microsoft, Walmart, etc.