Blockchain tech expertise
I. The Blockchain Before Bitcoin.?
It is believed that the anonymous person or group Satoshi Nakamoto created not only the first modern cryptocurrency, but also the blockchain architecture that makes possible the existence of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Nakamoto launched the blockchain and cryptocurrency Bitcoin in 2009.
There is no doubt that Bitcoin is Nakamoto's creation, but blockchains were invented at a completely different time and place.?
A generation before Nakamoto's white paper, a doctoral candidate at the University of California at Berkeley (California) named David Chaum highlighted the blockchain database in his dissertation, "Computer Systems Established, Maintained, and Trusted by Mutually Suspicious Groups” That was in 1982, 27 years before Bitcoin. There were decentralized databases before Chaum, but if you were ever on a question and answer show and asked who invented the blockchain, you would win if you answered Chaum in 1982.
But Chaum was not limited to theory. Based on his work on blockchain technology, Chaum launched a company called DigiCash in 1989 and in 1995, the company introduced a cryptocurrency with various names such as digicash, eCash, or cyberbucks.
DigiCash's digital currency promised to offer many of the functions of modern cryptocurrencies, including anonymity as a key benefit. Even governments could not decrypt eCash-encrypted transfers, according to the company. However, Chaum failed to persuade the banks to support the project, and without an internet infrastructure that supports peer-to-peer transactions but only with stock exchanges, the project was unlucky. DigiCash went bankrupt in 1998.
In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published a research paper on online discussion forums, under the name “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”.
Experts say that the blockchain protocol highlighted in Nakamoto's work is essentially the same as that of David Chaum. The only significant difference is the addition of the Labor Proof consensus mechanism for block validation and coin mining. However, most people believe that Satoshi Nakamoto created blockchain technology.
Nakamoto uploaded the blockchain source code to SourceForge in 2008 so that software developers around the world could contribute to the project. The first modern blockchain was launched in January 2009 along with the associated cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.
For a while it seemed that the Bitcoin project could have the same unfortunate fate as DigiCash because it took over two years for Bitcoin to reach the symbolic value of a US dollar and only in 2017 the value of a Bitcoin reached 1000 euros. Since then, the value of the currency has maintained its volatility, rising sharply on a steep trend or falling as dizzyingly.
II. An Abundance of Blockchains
Bitcoin has been the only blockchain and the only viable cryptocurrency in the world for two years. In 2011, developers launched blockchain-based cryptocurrencies called Litecoin and Namecoin, both derivatives of the Bitcoin project. Peercoin followed in 2012. The following year, five blockchains were introduced, including the first memecoin, Dogecoin.
2015 is again an important year because the Ethereum blockchain was introduced by a team that also included contributors to the Bitcoin project. Ethereum was different. Other blockchains existed only to support specific cryptocurrencies but Ethereum was introduced as a platform for running decentralized applications. The Ethereum blockchain has executable source code in addition to data, so it is the foundation for thousands of blockchain-based applications. The flexibility of the Ethereum blockchain makes it ideal for NFTs and dApps.
There is currently a lot of experimentation with variations of the basic architecture of the blockchain. Mainstream blockchains perform well in small quantities, but when it comes to scaling, they have trouble supporting full-scale applications. Transaction fees increase and processing times rise from hours to days. But many new blockchains include innovative solutions to these problems.
Researchers continue to experiment with consensus mechanisms, coordination of parallel sub-chains, private blockchains and other technical issues. Most new cryptocurrencies are introduced to support specific applications or industries, not to serve as general-purpose substitutes for government-issued fiat currencies. Many new blockchain applications have nothing to do with cryptocurrency. Those applications sometimes benefit from changes in the basic blockchain architecture.
Even if the world's governments were to create legislation to eliminate the cryptocurrency market, these blockchains would still have functions in health, identity management, supply chain management, entertainment and other areas. The blockchains are here to stay.
III. The technical perspective
Blockchain, or blockchain technology, is part of the whole network Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and represents data sets organized in chained blocks of information, shared, replicated and synchronized between network members.
Specifically, blockchain is a network / series of blocks that can contain data of any kind, having as its particular property the fact that, after validation, the data can no longer be altered.
New data can be permanently entered into this network, creating a new block, each of which is cryptographically linked to the one in front of it and from the one behind him, both informally and temporally. The science behind blockchain is cryptography. A is applied to each block hash cryptographic function, which generates and associates a unique string.
The structure of the blockchain is of the simple chained list type. For modification of existing data in a block, a new block is created which contains data on the change in question. Thus, records from the network can not be deleted, any action being found in blocks in the form of new ones. This system provides security to the information, as the network is tamper resistant.
The devices participating in the blockchain network, which download, store and constantly update the entire data register, called NODES. They can perform one or more functions depending on the architecture of the blockchain.
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DECENTRALIZATION - Blockchain networks are peer-to-peer,
which involves the elimination of intermediaries, the data being distributed simultaneously at all nodes in the network. Thus, it is impossible to alter data by a controlling entity.
TRANSPARENCY - All transactions / operations performed within the network are public, known by all existing nodes in the network. In this regard, it is permitted to audit all these operations for the purpose of ensuring data integrity.
IMMOBILITY - The veracity and integrity of the data entered is ensured through a multiple validation process (by multiple entities / nodes /peer). Once entered into the network and validated, the blocks cannot be modified/altered, being dependent on the hash cryptographic functions used for making connections between blocks.
SPEED - Since blockchain technology excludes the need for approval of operations by a central entity, their duration of validation the existing nodes in the network are considerably reduced.
ANONYMOUSNESS - Despite the fact that the operations are registered, respectively can be audited, they are made through accounts / wallets to which the identity of the holders is not associated.
Blockchain networks can be divided into three broad categories, depending on characteristics held: public blockchain, private blockchain and blockchain hybrid.
In the case of the PUBLIC blockchain, the network has no access restrictions for data nodes, any person / entity having the possibility to connect/carry out operations within it.
Also, any device can become a node by downloading, storing and constantly updating the entire data register. That's why the level of reliability between the nodes is low, offset by the use of complex cryptographic algorithms in communication between nodes.
The PRIVATE blockchain limits access to nodes in terms of data entry, but the ability of devices to acquire the quality of nodes within the network. Network access is restricted to certain persons / entities, depending on criteria established by its holder.
As for the HYBRID blockchain, it has both features specific to the public and private blockchain. The network is publicly visible, but access to it is restricted. Nodes play different roles, while having differentiated access to network information.
The main components of a blockchain are:
IV. OPPORTUNITY
Since the advent of technology, private companies have turned their attention towards integrating the blockchain into the activities it carries out, with a view to their efficiency.
The usefulness of blockchain is highlighted worldwide through multiple studies and surveys of some consulting companies.
Currently, according to a study by the World Economic Forum, blockchain technology is used by at least 40 central banks and in more than 200 public initiatives in 45 countries worldwide.
This development is not limited to the private sector. From the perspective of the sector public service and the improvement of services provided to citizens, implementation blockchain technologies could bring benefits in industries such as identity management (identity documents, marriage documents, passports, driving license, etc.), data security in aviation, optimizing the tax collection system, register management medical education, integrated management of citizens' schooling, ensuring cyber security, securing the supply chain, property management and cadaster of agricultural land.
Another advantage of blockchain technology is that it supports the creation of new classes of applications and business models. Blockchain-based NFTs are revolutionizing the relationship between sports clubs and their fans. The blockchain is the foundation of a whole generation of innovative decentralized financial applications. New applications in finance, entertainment, and games are emerging from the fertile ground of blockchain technology.