What is blockchain, and why should blockchain development matter to you?
Well, some say blockchain will revolutionize the financial system the same way the internet revolutionized media.
Here's what blockchain is - and why it's important.
Well, some say blockchain will revolutionize the financial system the same way the internet revolutionized media.
Here's what blockchain is - and why it's important.
What is Blockchain?
First: what the heck is a blockchain?
Well, let's start by talking about an E. coli problem at Chipotle.
In 2015, an E. coli outbreak at Chipotle Mexican grill left 55 people sick, mounted into a PR disaster and crushed Chipotle's stock price by 42%, where it has stayed ever since.
What does this have to do with blockchain? Well, blockchain is the thing that could've stopped Chipotle's problem.
A blockchain is a digital, public ledger of bitcoin transactions (that is, digital currency transactions.) All of the bitcoin transactions, sequentially.
The way block chain works is that anyone with access can add a transaction, called a block. Once the transaction is completed, they add it to the chain, and anyone with access to the chain can see it (and all other blocks) but the blocks can't be copied, modified or deleted.
The problem with companies like Chipotle is visibility - they have so many individual parts of their supply chain, and yet they can't track where these ingredients are at any given time. Blockchain would allow them to trace where the faulty ingredients came from and stem the disaster faster.
Well, let's start by talking about an E. coli problem at Chipotle.
In 2015, an E. coli outbreak at Chipotle Mexican grill left 55 people sick, mounted into a PR disaster and crushed Chipotle's stock price by 42%, where it has stayed ever since.
What does this have to do with blockchain? Well, blockchain is the thing that could've stopped Chipotle's problem.
A blockchain is a digital, public ledger of bitcoin transactions (that is, digital currency transactions.) All of the bitcoin transactions, sequentially.
The way block chain works is that anyone with access can add a transaction, called a block. Once the transaction is completed, they add it to the chain, and anyone with access to the chain can see it (and all other blocks) but the blocks can't be copied, modified or deleted.
The problem with companies like Chipotle is visibility - they have so many individual parts of their supply chain, and yet they can't track where these ingredients are at any given time. Blockchain would allow them to trace where the faulty ingredients came from and stem the disaster faster.
A Short History of Blockchain Development
So how did we get here? It all started with bitcoin, and all the major
blockchain development has been in the last ten years alone.
Bitcoin is the founding principle of blockchain, and it started as a digital currency experiment. A wildly successful experiment. It made the news as one unit of bitcoin is now worth $11,500.
Blockchain was the next natural outgrowth of bitcoin, and it boils down to the realization that you could use bitcoin technology for other purposes - like, for example, trustworthy digital record keeping that cut out the need for a middleman.
Then, there's Ethereum, otherwise known as the smart contract. This was a big deal because it built computer programs into blockchain itself that made it possible for things like loans and bonds to exist in blockchain - not just simple cash tokens.
The cutting edge of blockchain thinking today is called "proof of stake". Right now, the group with the largest computing power makes the decisions in blockchain. Proof of stake replaces the data centers used for this and instead implements complex financial instruments.
Then, there's blockchain scaling - which is essentially a way of dealing with the current blockchain problem that every computer in the blockchain processes every transaction. This makes blockchains highly secure but slow. But it's not an impossible problem to solve, one that's already in progress.
Bitcoin is the founding principle of blockchain, and it started as a digital currency experiment. A wildly successful experiment. It made the news as one unit of bitcoin is now worth $11,500.
Blockchain was the next natural outgrowth of bitcoin, and it boils down to the realization that you could use bitcoin technology for other purposes - like, for example, trustworthy digital record keeping that cut out the need for a middleman.
Then, there's Ethereum, otherwise known as the smart contract. This was a big deal because it built computer programs into blockchain itself that made it possible for things like loans and bonds to exist in blockchain - not just simple cash tokens.
The cutting edge of blockchain thinking today is called "proof of stake". Right now, the group with the largest computing power makes the decisions in blockchain. Proof of stake replaces the data centers used for this and instead implements complex financial instruments.
Then, there's blockchain scaling - which is essentially a way of dealing with the current blockchain problem that every computer in the blockchain processes every transaction. This makes blockchains highly secure but slow. But it's not an impossible problem to solve, one that's already in progress.
Blockchain Solutions with IoTCoreSolutions
So you want to get in on blockchain? Good choice. We can help.
We develop and apply advanced blockchain solutions for our clients to give you new insights and greater security.
Ready to get started? We can't wait to have you - head to our contact page to get started.
We develop and apply advanced blockchain solutions for our clients to give you new insights and greater security.
Ready to get started? We can't wait to have you - head to our contact page to get started.
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