What is blockchain or blockchain technology?

by Anii Jain Human resource executive

A blockchain, originally block chain, is a growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data (generally represented as a Merkle tree).

If you have been following banking, investing, or cryptocurrency over the last ten years, you may be familiar with “blockchain,” the record-keeping technology behind bitcoin

Blockchain was invented by a person (or group of people) using the name Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 to serve as the public transaction ledger of the cryptocurrency bitcoin. The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is unknown. The invention of the blockchain for bitcoin made it the first digital currency to solve the double-spending problem without the need for a trusted authority or central server. The bitcoin design has inspired other applications, and blockchains that are readable by the public are widely used by cryptocurrencies. Blockchain is considered a type of payment rail. Private blockchains have been proposed for business use. Sources such as Computerworld called the marketing of such blockchains without a proper security model "snake oil".

Blockchain as a technology promotes transparency and empowers people to think differently about exchanging value and assets, sharing data, doing business and enforcing contracts. It is transforming the digital information ecosystem with respect to data collection and preservation. Also known as a public ledger of a transaction, blockchain is a shared technology administered in a shared network of computers, rather than resting with a single provider. Data can now be shared across multiple organizations enabling business processes to eliminate scope for frauds while also create new revenue opportunities.!

By design, a blockchain is resistant to modification of the data. It is "an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way".For use as a distributed ledger, a blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for inter-node communication and validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks, which requires a consensus of the network majority. Although blockchain records are not unalterable, blockchains may be considered secure by design and exemplify a distributed computing system with high Byzantine fault tolerance. Decentralized consensus has therefore been claimed with a blockchain.

With the successful implementation of blockchain in cryptocurrency domain with the likes of Bitcoin, blockchain has grown beyond its originating point- fintech. The use case range from identity management, ownership proof, and anti-counterfeit protection to self-executing contracts. The technology appreciates and facilitates efficiency and freedom from cumbersome paperwork and manual processing.