Yoooo!!! It has been a long journey, and we are finally at the end of this challenge. Thank you all for sticking through with me, reading my articles, and engaging.
For this last entry, I will write about what I am very passionate about now, the Web3 space. This article will be on Blockchain, so let's get into it.
What Is A Blockchain?
Blockchain is an open-source, decentralized distributed ledger that keeps a record of transactions, stores and secures them with a cryptographic hash making it immutable. Trust me, I know this was a whole lot to take in, but stick with me, okay? I was very intentional about using these terms to define the Blockchain because these are terms regularly used when discussing Blockchain. In the following subheading, I will further break it down to its simplest form to enable you to familiarise yourself with these terms.
Characteristics Of Blockchain
- Open-source
We can deduce from the word "open" that this means not hidden and available for all to see. This transparency protects the Blockchain and keeps it secure. Here, copies of transactions are made available to all the computers on the blockchain network—computers involved in Mining and Validating can see all the transactions and detect when a transaction has been hacked or falsified.
- Decentralized
It is a system where there is no central authority. Here, individuals and entities are in control of their activities on the Blockchain. There is no government to detect how to spend funds or police to checkmate your activities. You have total control and power over your assets in this space.
- Distributed
A perfect way to explain this is to visualize a courtroom where eyewitnesses testify in favor or against a crime. The judge makes a verdict based on these testimonies made. Bringing it to Blockchain, computers on the network are the eyewitnesses that check the credibility of a transaction and testify in favor or against the validity. A copy of the transactions is distributed to all computers on the network, and each computer verifies these transactions. If most computers vote in favor of this transaction, the blockchain network marks the transaction as valid.
- Ledger
If you are familiar with the banking system, you would know that there is a ledger where all transactions, deposits, and withdrawals are recorded and stored; This also applies to the Blockchain. It is a ledger that records any activity carried out, be it buying crypto coins, crypto transfers, transactions, payments, and many more.
- Cryptography / Hash
This is basically data encryption. Data gotten from users is encrypted into characters making it very hard to decode. This protects users' data.
- Immutable
This means any data entered into the Blockchain cannot be changed. In other platforms where data is stored on clouds and computers, this data can be revisited and altered. However, in Blockchain, these transactions can not be changed; any alteration would be immediately detected, and that block of transaction would be canceled and removed from the chain.
What Is Blockchain Technology?
Blockchain technology is the technology on which the Blockchain works. So many areas of specialization use this blockchain technology to create their blockchains. Bitcoin uses this blockchain technology to create its Blockchain to verify, validate and record transactions on the Bitcoin network.
Why Was Blockchain Created?
People want control! They want to direct their affairs without a central authority. This birthed the idea of Blockchain; removing power from the government and putting it in the hands of the ordinary man. It made transactions between strangers safe and transparent, eliminating the need for third-party services. The introduction of smart contracts on Blockchain helped protect the interest of two strangers when making a transaction. This technology has been employed in some sectors and is gaining ground in many more sectors.
How Does The Blockchain work?
Every block on the chain has a specific amount of data it can hold before being filled up. Once a block has been filed with data, it is automatically signed off as completed then a new block is mined. This new block continues from where the previous block stopped. The concept of the chain comes in because they are linked together. This circle continues with a new block starting from where the last block stopped.
Is Blockchain Secure?
Everyone wants a secure means; before diving into a technology and investing funds, everyone wants to know if it's safe... And yeah! It is. Blockchain consists of many blocks of transactions tied together with a chain (not in a literal sense tho), so before any transaction can be altered, the hacker would have to get control of over 50% of the computers to modify a transaction successfully. With more people using this technology, the number of computers on this network gets seemingly plenty, making it impossible for this to occur. However, if a transaction is altered, once detected, that block is automatically canceled and removed from the Blockchain.
Conclusion
These are the most important points you need to know about blockchain. However, In subsequent articles I would be touching all the areas of blockchain that wasn't mentioned above. Thank you so much for reading. Drop a like and comment if you enjoyed this article 😊