Also referred to as the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), blockchain is the digital asset of organizations that cannot be modified. It can be transparent for several people through decentralization and cryptographic hashing. The blockchain is in a database that gathers the information stored on a system. Databases are designed in a table format for users to retrieve a block or filter specific data quickly. This technology has the potential to disintermediate trust and decentralize any system.
Aspect
Explanation
Definition
A “Blockchain” is a decentralized and distributed digital ledger technology that records transactions across multiple computers in a way that ensures security, transparency, and immutability. It consists of a chain of blocks, each containing a batch of transactions, linked together in chronological order. The blockchain technology was first introduced as the underlying technology for Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, but it has since found applications across various industries, enabling trustless and tamper-resistant record-keeping. Blockchain’s core principles include decentralization, consensus, cryptographic security, and transparency.
Key Concepts
– Decentralization: Blockchains operate on a network of nodes (computers) distributed globally, eliminating the need for a central authority or intermediary. – Consensus Mechanisms: Blockchains use consensus algorithms (e.g., Proof of Work, Proof of Stake) to validate and agree on the state of the ledger. – Cryptographic Security: Transactions are secured using cryptographic techniques, making them tamper-resistant. – Transparency: Blockchains are typically transparent, allowing anyone to view the entire transaction history.
Characteristics
– Immutability: Once data is recorded on the blockchain, it is extremely difficult to alter or delete, ensuring a reliable historical record. – Security: Blockchains use cryptographic hashing to protect against unauthorized changes. – Trustless: Participants can trust the blockchain’s integrity without relying on intermediaries. – Permissioned or Permissionless: Blockchains can be public (permissionless) or private (permissioned) depending on accessibility. – Smart Contracts: Some blockchains support self-executing smart contracts, automating agreements and transactions.
Implications
– Decentralization: Blockchain reduces the need for centralized authorities, impacting industries such as finance, supply chain, and governance. – Data Security: Blockchain enhances data security and integrity, reducing fraud and unauthorized access. – Trust in Digital Transactions: It enables trust in digital transactions and assets, fostering new possibilities for online commerce. – Efficiency: Streamlined processes and reduced intermediaries can lead to cost savings and efficiency gains. – Disintermediation: Blockchain has the potential to disrupt intermediaries in various industries.
Advantages
– Security: Transactions are highly secure and tamper-resistant due to cryptographic validation. – Transparency: The blockchain ledger is transparent, allowing participants to verify transactions. – Decentralization: Eliminates the need for intermediaries and central authorities. – Immutability: Records are nearly impossible to alter, enhancing trust. – Smart Contracts: Automation of agreements can improve efficiency and reduce disputes.
Drawbacks
– Scalability: Some blockchains face challenges in handling a high volume of transactions quickly. – Energy Consumption: Proof of Work (PoW) blockchains can be energy-intensive. – Regulatory Uncertainty: Legal and regulatory frameworks for blockchain vary by jurisdiction and can be unclear. – Complexity: Implementing blockchain solutions can be technically challenging and resource-intensive. – Privacy: Public blockchains may not offer the same privacy as private or permissioned blockchains.
Applications
Blockchains have diverse applications, including: – Cryptocurrencies: As the technology behind Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies. – Supply Chain Management: Tracking the provenance of goods, enhancing transparency. – Financial Services: Enabling faster and more secure cross-border payments. – Healthcare: Managing patient records securely. – Voting Systems: Ensuring transparent and secure elections. – Smart Contracts: Automating and enforcing contractual agreements. – Tokenization: Representing assets digitally (e.g., real estate, art). – Identity Verification: Secure digital identities.
Use Cases
– Bitcoin: The first and most well-known blockchain application, a decentralized digital currency. – Ethereum: A blockchain platform known for smart contract capabilities, enabling decentralized applications (DApps). – Hyperledger Fabric: A permissioned blockchain framework used for enterprise applications. – Ripple: Focused on facilitating cross-border payments for financial institutions. – Chainlink: Providing decentralized oracle services to connect smart contracts with real-world data. – Binance Coin (BNB): Used within the Binance cryptocurrency exchange for trading fee discounts and more. – Cardano (ADA): Aims to provide a secure and scalable platform for the development of DApps and smart contracts. – Polkadot (DOT): Focused on interoperability between different blockchains and networks.
Businesses apply blockchain to address complex problems associated with digitization and technological advancements. Blockchain is valuable for business, especially when it comes to managing transactions between different entities. A majority of companies today can miss out on opportunities if they waste time on procedural delays, errors, and a fraction of fees that go into intermediaries.
In a nutshell, a blockchain is a chain of blocks that include insightful information. Every block contains records of the data, its transaction, and timestamp. Nevertheless, the simplistic model became the open-standard protocol in preventing data tampering.
To further understand how blockchain works, it is comparable to the distribution of files through Google Docs. In Google’s word processor, users can create a document, edit its content, and share it with a group of people. Instead of directly transferring the document, it gets shared by the host. This process is closely related to blockchain’s decentralized distribution chain that allows approved users to access data all at once. While a user is altering something within the chain, the party can see the changes in real-time. Modifications get recorded in real-time to provide a sense of transparency across members of the organization.
In contrast with a typical database, blockchains gather data in segments. The segmentation of data separates blocks that hold large datasets. Every block has limited capacity, so soon after one fills up, it proceeds to the next block. It then forms a chain of data that makes up the blockchain.
Overall, blockchain is a revolutionary technology that addresses problems with fraudulent activities and cyber threats.
How Blockchain Transforms the Job Market Today
As the technical demand increases, the roles for the blockchain industry continue to grow. Technical skills in blockchain involve extensive knowledge of programming technologies and concepts. Blockchain professionals usually display expertise in object-oriented programming, cryptography, and ledger economics.
Many businesses that focus on digital transformation form IT teams that harness knowledge in the blockchain. The recent COVID-19 pandemic reminded them of this need with the requirement for strategy reform to stay afloat. Instead of relying on conventional practices, they utilized blockchain to increase productivity even though most employees work at home. Blockchain goes hand in hand in maintaining the storage of information that is manageable anytime and anywhere. The decentralized network of data gets bound by a set of computers instead of one server. When the network has multiple owners, hacks and threats are instantly resolvable.
Importance of Blockchain Technology in Business
Companies are taking notice of these business benefits and embracing blockchain technology for its wide-reaching possibilities. From manufacturing to healthcare to supply chain and beyond, blockchain has much to offer.
Reducing Operational Costs
When the network is decentralized, companies can reduce operational costs. They can switch their focus to other processes supporting blockchain technology. This technology includes administrative procedures for maintaining transaction and reconciliation records.
Instead of relying on an intermediary, blockchain lets digital entrepreneurs streamline the procurement of products and transactions. For instance, Walmart applied blockchain technology and minimized its time to locate the sources of products to be placed on their shelves. They reduced the time from 1 week to 2.2 seconds, which brought immense savings.
Provides Transparency
Transparency is vital most, especially in businesses that are in the retail and supply management industry. Digital entrepreneurs can streamline the distribution of goods through blockchain technology. Blockchain eliminates the need for a tedious supply chain focusing o monitoring transactions within the blockchain. The data is stored on the distributed ledger, making it easier to track every supply’s progress. Transparency allows multiple employees to access the blockchain. This transparency is helpful in terms of increasing the measures for security.
The blockchain ledger is the one the keeps a record of the exchange of products. Entrepreneurs are then able to track the source of the product through the audit trail. Apart from streamlining processes, businesses can decrease the chances of falling into fraudulent exchange practices. Blockchain allows you to verify if the traded assets are legitimate before making a transaction. In the healthcare industry, blockchain technology helps the owners detect the supply chain. From the manufacturer to its distributors, hospitals can authenticate medical supplies and goods.
Security
In contrast with the traditional record-keeping systems, blockchain technology is far more secured and safe. Every transaction performed is monitored and encrypted to ensure the safety of the entrepreneurs. The supply chain is expressed in detail, which means you can find the manufacturer and the transactions linked with the products purchased. Once formed, a network of blocks linked together can never get modified. This precaution ensures no one can tamper within the blockchain, making it safe from cyber threats and fraud. Plus, the blockchain’s decentralized nature ensures either party cannot experience any issues when making transactions.
Decentralized data eliminates the risks posed by the conventional centralized record systems. Instead of relying on a sole person to manage the data and system recovery, data blocks get shared between more than one unit. When the blocks of information spread across the organization, the risks reduce significantly. From two entrepreneurs to a network of parties, all of their data gets encrypted for their privacy and security.
As an example, businesses offer smart contracts via blockchain technology to streamline the deliverables. It ensures that once you finished the tasks they require, the agreement would automatically charge clients for the services. Self-automated programs such as these can protect entrepreneurs against fraud. Plus, you can skip the process of going for an intermediary to file for a dispute if clients didn’t comply.
Blockchain technology is the use of cryptography to link data. It is basically a list of records that is unalterable. Along with this, it is also decentralized meaning it is not in the control of a single entity and is distributed among several entities to divide the power. In order to link the data is linked through a process known as “cryptographic hashing”. It uses a mathematical algorithm to map the data of arbitrary size to a fixed size.
How does the Blockchain work?
The function is one way; it cannot be inverted. A timestamp is also a part that reduces the risk of alteration in the data. No modifications can be made in a single part of the data as the data is linked across the channels. In order for it to be modified or altered, the entire block of data would need to be altered which becomes a daunting task.
The chain of data contains blocks and each block contains data, a nonce, and a hash. The blocks of data are created using the technique called mining. Mining usually involves solving very complex math problems to identify the nonce that in turn generates a hash. Mining is a very complex process and in order to alter the data, one has to re-mine the data. Due to its decentralized nature, it is not restricted to one device and can be accessed through nodes. This allows for greater flexibility. There are a lot of risks that come with the centralization of data but blockchain uses peer to peer network. The risk is reduced because there is no central point of failure and is divided throughout the different nodes.
Blockchain applications
Blockchain is commonly known for its uses in cryptocurrency and decentralized financial transactions. Though that is one very common application of blockchain services, the applications that it offers are of a wide variety. One of the biggest applications that it offers is the protection of healthcare data.
Since healthcare records are private and require immense protection but at the same time access to relevant authorities, blockchain provides a platform to be used for the safe transfer of data. In the world of finance, blockchain provides a lot of services in what is known as decentralized finance (DeFi). In simple words, it basically is a means of financial transactions between buyers and sellers without any intermediaries in between.
For businesses that rely heavily on technology and storing data using cloud services, blockchain offers much cheaper alternatives in this aspect. It is estimated that over 22 billion dollars are spent annually on cloud services. These could be reduced dramatically through blockchain. Two different things will be achieved through this; one, it will reduce the costs of data storage for companies and private users, and two, it will generate new revenue streams for average users.
Companies, which have to make payments to employees especially those who are foreign, incur costs in transferring the money through different financial institutions. Due to the presence of numerous intermediaries in the entire process, costs are incurred in making the transactions.
These costs will virtually become non-existent with the use of blockchain technologies. It will not only save money for the company but also the time in making the transaction. International transactions typically have a large number of intermediaries in between which not only makes the entire process costly but also time-consuming and blockchain takes care of both these issues.
In the insurance world, blockchain offers great services through a process known as “smart contracts”. Through blockchain applications, these contracts can be made and managed in a very transparent manner. The blockchain has the ability to record the claims and the contract and also validates them by the network which leaves no room for any invalid claims as they will be rejected by the blockchain.
Peer-to-peer transactions are available with the current financial systems but some of them have certain limitations like geographical unavailability of the service. These can be mitigated through the use of blockchain which enables not only individuals but businesses to carry out their respective financial activities without being limited by factors like geography.
Since the blockchain services are not centralized, the advantage it gives businesses is huge in terms of cybersecurity. Hacking has been a threat to all online businesses or any business with some sort of an online presence. Due to the decentralized nature of blockchain, it provides an advantage to businesses in terms of cybersecurity.
End to end encryption is also a feature provided through the use of blockchain. As the world moves towards integrating more and more IoT devices, blockchain services can provide applications to make the transition smoother. It can help in asset tracking by monitoring machinery and parts. This data can be recorded using this method as opposed to the current costly cloud storing methods.
In the future, it is expected that blockchain will become the standard for transactions, especially in international finance. Along with this, it is expected to improve the processes of companies by not only storing data but also enhancing operations by safely transmitting it to relevant areas for better optimization.
Blockchain even has applications for use by different Governments around the world. Voting can be ensured in an efficient and safe manner through the use of blockchain. The primary concern is voter information, which is taken care of by the high level of security that blockchain, offers for its services. The electoral process can be enhanced by the institutions responsible for it.
The future possibilities that blockchain offers for businesses are endless. It saves both time and money through all industries. From financial transactions to ensure the safety of user identities and from providing transparent contracts to storing data, blockchain offers great applications, which can be utilized by businesses in order to improve their processes. Its applications go well beyond what it is most commonly known for i.e. cryptocurrency. Regulation on the current systems can boost the overall use of these technologies and increase the confidence of both businesses and their users.
Web3 describes a version of the internet where data will be interconnected in a decentralized way. Web3 is an umbrella that comprises various fields like semantic web, AR/VR, AI at scale, blockchain technologies, and decentralization. The core idea of Web3 moves along the lines of enabling decentralized ownership on the web.
A blockchain protocol is a set of underlying rules that define how a blockchain will work. Based on the underlying rules of the protocol it’s possible to build a business ecosystem. Usually, protocol’s rules comprise everything from how tokens can be issued, how value is created, and how interactions happen on top of the protocol.
In software engineering, a fork consists of a “split” of a project, as developers take the source code to start independently developing on it. Software protocols (the set of rules underlying the software) usually fork as a group decision-making process. All developers have to agree on the new course and direction of the software protocol. A fork can be “soft” when an alteration to the software protocol keeps it backward compatible or “hard” where a divergence of the new chain is permanent. Forks are critical to the development and evolution of Blockchain protocols.
A Merkle tree is a data structure encoding blockchain data more efficiently and securely. The Merkle tree is one of the foundational components of a Blockchain protocol.
The nothing-at-stake problem argues that validators on a blockchain with a financial incentive to mine on each fork are disruptive to consensus. Potentially, this makes the system more vulnerable to attack. This is a key problem that makes possible underlying blockchain protocols, based on core mechanisms like a proof-of-stake consensus, a key consensus system, that together the proof-of-work make up key protocols like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
A 51% Attack is an attack on the blockchain network by an entity or organization. The primary goal of such an attack is the exclusion or modification of blockchain transactions. A 51% attack is carried out by a miner or group of miners endeavoring to control more than half of a network’s mining power, hash rate, or computing power. For this reason, it is sometimes called a majority attack. This can corrupt a blockchain protocol that malicious attackers would take over.
A Proof of Work is a form of consensus algorithm used to achieve agreement across a distributed network. In a Proof of Work, miners compete to complete transactions on the network, by commuting hard mathematical problems (i.e. hashes functions) and as a result they get rewarded in coins.
An Application Binary Interface (ABI) is the interface between two binary program modules that work together. An ABI is a contract between pieces of binary code defining the mechanisms by which functions are invoked and how parameters are passed between the caller and callee. ABIs have become critical in the development of applications leveraging smart contracts, on Blockchain protocols like Ethereum.
A Proof of Stake (PoS) is a form of consensus algorithm used to achieve agreement across a distributed network. As such it is, together with Proof of Work, among the key consensus algorithms for Blockchain protocols (like the Ethereum’s Casper protocol). Proof of Stake has the advantage of security, reduced risk of centralization, and energy efficiency.
Proof-of-Activity (PoA) is a blockchain consensus algorithm that facilitates genuine transactions and consensus amongst miners. That is a consensus algorithm combining proof-of-work and proof-of-stake. This consensus algorithm is designed to prevent attacks on the underlying Blockchain.
According to Joel Monegro, a former analyst at USV (a venture capital firm) the blockchain implies value creation in its protocols. Where the web has allowed the value to be captured at the applications layer (take Facebook, Twitter, Google, and many others). In a Blockchain Economy, this value might be captured by the protocols at the base of the blockchain (for instance Bitcoin and Ethereum).
A Blockchain Business Model is made of four main components: Value Model (Core Philosophy, Core Value and Value Propositions for the key stakeholders), Blockchain Model (Protocol Rules, Network Shape and Applications Layer/Ecosystem), Distribution Model (the key channels amplifying the protocol and its communities), and the Economic Model (the dynamics through which protocol players make money). Those elements coming together can serve as the basis to build and analyze a solid Blockchain Business Model.
Blockchain companies use sharding to partition databases and increase scalability, allowing them to process more transactions per second. Sharding is a key mechanism underneath the Ethereum Blockchain and one of its critical components. Indeed, sharding enables Blockchain protocols to overcome the Scalability Trilemma (as a Blockchain grows, it stays scalable, secure, and decentralized).
A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) operates autonomously on blockchain protocol under rules governed by smart contracts. DAO is among the most important innovations that Blockchain has brought to the business world, which can create “super entities” or large entities that do not have a central authority but are instead managed in a decentralized manner.
Smart contracts are protocols designed to facilitate, verify, or enforce digital contracts without the need for a credible third party. These contracts work on an “if/when-then” principle and have some similarities to modern escrow services but without a third party involved in guaranteeing the transaction. Instead, it uses blockchain technology to verify the information and increase trust between the transaction participants.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are cryptographic tokens that represent something unique. Non-fungible assets are those that are not mutually interchangeable. Non-fungible tokens contain identifying information that makes them unique. Unlike Bitcoin – which has a supply of 21 million identical coins – they cannot be exchanged like for like.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) refers to an ecosystem of financial products that do not rely on traditional financial intermediaries such as banks and exchanges. Central to the success of decentralized finance is smart contracts, which are deployed on Ethereum (contracts that two parties can deploy without an intermediary). DeFi also gave rise to dApps (decentralized apps), giving developers the ability to build applications on top of the Ethereum blockchain.
The history of Bitcoin starts before the 2008 White Paper by Satoshi Nakamoto. In 1989 first and 1991, David Chaum created DigiCash, and various cryptographers tried to solve the “double spending” problem. By 1998 Nick Szabo began working on a decentralized digital currency called “bit gold.” By 2008 the Bitcoin White Paper got published. And from there, by 2014, the Blockchain 2.0 (beyond the money use case) sprouted out.
An altcoin is a general term describing any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Indeed, as Bitcoin started to evolve since its inception, back in 2009, many other cryptocurrencies sprouted due to philosophical differences with the Bitcoin protocol but also to cover wider use cases that the Bitcoin protocol could enable.
Ethereum was launched in 2015 with its cryptocurrency, Ether, as an open-source, blockchain-based, decentralized platform software. Smart contracts are enabled, and Distributed Applications (dApps) get built without downtime or third-party disturbance. It also helps developers build and publish applications as it is also a programming language running on a blockchain.
An imaginary flywheel of the development of a crypto ecosystem, and more, in particular, the Ethereum ecosystem. As developers join in and the community strengthens, more use cases are built, which attract more and more users. As users grow exponentially, businesses become interested in the underlying ecosystem, thus investing more in it. These resources are invested back in the protocol to make it more scalable, thus reducing gas fees for developers and users, facilitating the adoption of the whole business platform.
Solana is a blockchain network with a focus on high performance and rapid transactions. To boost speed, it employs a one-of-a-kind approach to transaction sequencing. Users can use SOL, the network’s native cryptocurrency, to cover transaction costs and engage with smart contracts.
In essence, Polkadot is a cryptocurrency project created as an effort to transform and power a decentralized internet, Web 3.0, in the future. Polkadot is a decentralized platform, which makes it interoperable with other blockchains.
Launched in October 2020, Filecoin protocol is based on a “useful work” consensus, where the miners are rewarded as they perform useful work for the network (provide storage and retrieve data). Filecoin (⨎) is an open-source, public cryptocurrency and digital payment system. Built on the InterPlanetary File System.
BAT or Basic Attention Token is a utility token aiming to provide privacy-based web tools for advertisers and users to monetize attention on the web in a decentralized way via Blockchain-based technologies. Therefore, the BAT ecosystem moves around a browser (Brave), a privacy-based search engine (Brave Search), and a utility token (BAT). Users can opt-in to advertising, thus making money based on their attention to ads as they browse the web.
Uniswap is a renowned decentralized crypto exchange created in 2018 and based on the Ethereum blockchain, to provide liquidity to the system. As a cryptocurrency exchange technology that operates on a decentralized basis. The Uniswap protocol inherited its namesake from the business that created it — Uniswap. Through smart contracts, the Uniswap protocol automates transactions between cryptocurrency tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
Discover more from FourWeekMBA
Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.
