Blockchain – that is the word the tech world is gripped with now. Everyone is talking about it. And yet not many understand it!
According to Wikpedia, ‘blockchain is a distributed database that is used to maintain a continuously growing list of records, called blocks’. Each transaction done online is known as a block. Each block can be tracked and is linked to a previous block.
Whenever a transaction is done, the information is transmitted to hundreds of other computers who have a copy of the record. These computers confirm whether this transaction is authorized or not. They can either agree or disagree and say whether the transaction is legitimate or not. The details of this transaction have to match with every copy of the record. Only then it is authorized. After it is authorized, the block is added to the chain.
Below illustration explains the whole blockchain process if ‘A’ were to send some money to ‘B’
You must be wondering where this whole chain is kept. In which bank can you find it? Now, this is the beauty of blockchain. It does not require a bank! It is not owned by any one individual or organization. Everyone who has a copy owns it.
So, does it mean that anyone can change/tamper with the record? No! The digital ledger is incorruptible. It is irreversible. Since the records are all in public domain and easily verifiable, if someone tries to tamper with a block, others will come to know and reject the change. It is truly a decentralized record system where records are hosted by millions of computers simultaneously with its data accessible to anyone on the internet. Blockchain can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.
The new revolution in technology is here.
