Tuesday, December 3, 2024
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Blockchain

You’d have been living under a rock for the last decade if you hadn’t at least heard of blockchain. A form of distributed ledger technology, or DLT, blockchain has been sensationalized the world over for its disruptive potential across the realms of finance, trade, commerce, and payments. Similarly, it’s drawn prominent critics, who dismiss the technology as having few use cases.

Beginning with Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008, blockchain technologies have outstripped their original function as the underlying infrastructure for digital cash, and have now been applied to multiple scenarios where two or more parties need to transact securely.

But digging deep into the actual definition of blockchain can leave even the more tech-savvy among us confused. In an industry that moves as fast as blockchain, new definitions and technologies are evolving every day. Although many associate blockchains with cryptocurrencies, there are many blockchains which do not require a native token to function. So what is blockchain, and how does blockchain work?

Essentially, blockchain is a database of every past transaction which has occurred on the protocol. As it’s distributed between all network participants or ‘full nodes,’ no individual party can change the history of the blockchain. Each user is allocated a blockchain address, where transactions are stored and recorded. These transactions are recorded on the blockchain as ‘blocks,’ which are aggregated groups of transactions.

This makes trusting each network participant much easier, as the network prevents double-spending issues and stops scammers from making fraudulent transactions – in theory. Blockchain hacks can and do happen, and our guides will also make you aware of how to transact with cryptocurrencies and on blockchain networks safely.

At Blokt, we keep you up to date on the latest innovations and iterations of blockchain technology. Our blockchain guides will have you ready to hold a conversation about consensus mechanisms or immutability in no time.