Blockchain is the future!

What is Blockchain? Should I care? I’m Confused 😩 !!

For the non technical version. If your asking yourself the same questions I was asking myself just a few weeks ago, just calm down and keep reading. There are a lot of misconceptions as to what Blockchain is and what it is used for. The new word in town is Blockchain and it’s here to stay. As for your first question, What is Blockchain? In very literal terms think of Blockchain itself like a bunch of files connected through fingerprints. Each one of those files contains some data, a fingerprint of itself, a fingerprint of the file before it and a timestamp.

Then give a copy of the entire chain of files along with all of those fingerprints to thousands of people world wide so no one person can change the file structure or data without having to get permission from at least 50% of the network of people holding the same BLOCKCHAIN. Then every time a new file is added it must be timestamped, approved autonomously by at least 50% the entire network of distributed identical file structures that are being held around the world, and finally it can only be added to the end of the chain.

The fingerprint is created as soon as the file is approved to join the chain. If someone goes and changes one file on one of the networks then the fingerprint immediately changes, which means all of the subsequent files cannot reference it and it makes the entire chain of files invalid. Which is why there are thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions of copies of a given file structure distributed amongst the network of peers around the world. The first file is called the Genesis — just in case you were wondering.

As for whether you should care, If your a middle man you should care or even worry because it might even cost you your job. The current system of file structures have to be handled by error prone humans that require high salaries and health insurance. And unlike our file structure a Blockchain is digital, error proof, fraud proof and does not need a human to refer to his written ledger to access a record.

Now think of all the applications you can implement with a Blockchain and all of the benefits. Here are some: increased security and trust, lowers transaction costs, cuts out the middleman because everything is public and kept with integrity , speeds up processes because it’s not based on a human schedule etc….

And now here is the technical version. Blockchain is a series of nodes which are connected through hashes which are used like addresses. Each node contains data, a hash of itself , a hash of the node before it and a digital timestamp. The Blockchain is decentralized which means there is no single point of failure or no one person can corrupt the chain.

A hash is created as soon as the block is created. If someone tampers with one of the blocks the hash immediately changes and that means all of the following blocks cannot reference it making the entire chain invalid. Which is why Blockchain uses a peer 2 peer network and everyone is free to join, its a great way to keep the individual Blockchains clear of any corruption. The hash is created using cryptography to ensure the records can’t be counterfeited or changed, and it is almost impossible to corrupt the entire Blockchain because one would have to gain access to over 50% of the entire network of peers in order to change or corrupt it.

So, should you care? Yes you should, and here is why, if your looking to do any kind of business it can help with processing speeds, transaction costs, security, property rights, crypto currencies and much more. And if your a developer think like a businessman and take into account the benefits listed above and realize its the next big thing, so time to jump on the band wagon.