What Can a Blockchain Do?
von Satoshi Nakamoto
Financial institutions have financed the disruption of countless industries over the last 30 years; they have an idea of what a revolutionary technology can do to static incumbents.
So, to stay ahead of change, banks have been proactive in setting up R&D labs, building test centers and establishing partnerships with blockchain developers to fully understand the revolutionary potential of the technology.
Financial institutions were the first to dip their feet in, but academia, governments and consulting firms have also studied the technology.
All of this work is, of course, in addition to what the entrepreneurs and developers are doing, either by finding new ways to use the bitcoin or ethereum blockchains, or else creating entirely new blockchains.
This has been going on for over three years now, and the results are starting to come in.
While some of the waters are still murky, this is what we know a blockchain can do:
Establish digital identity
As discussed in our guide "How Does Blockchain Technology Work?", the identity component of blockchain technology is fulfilled through the use of cryptographic keys. Combining a public and private key creates a strong digital identity reference based on possession.
A public key is how you are identified in the crowd (like an email address), a private key is how you express consent to digital interactions. Cryptography is an important force behind the blockchain revolution.
Serve as a system of record
As stated in our guide "What is a Distributed Ledger?", blockchains are an innovation in information registration and distribution. They are good for recording both static data (a registry) or dynamic data (transactions), making it an evolution in systems of record.
In the case of a registry, data can be stored on blockchains in any combination of three ways:
Unencrypted data – can be read by every blockchain participant in the blockchain and is fully transparent.
Encrypted data – can be read by participants with a decryption key. The key provides access to the data on the blockchain and can prove who added the data and when it was added.
Hashed data – can be presented alongside the function that created it to show the data wasn't tampered with.
Blockchain hashes are generally done in combination with the original data stored off-chain. Digital 'fingerprints', for example, are often hashed into the blockchain, while the main body of information can be stored offline.
Such a shared system of record can change the way disparate organizations work together.
Currently, with data siloed in private servers, there is an enormous cost for inter-company transactions involving processes, procedures and cross-checking of records.
Prove immutability
A feature of a blockchain database is that is has a history of itself. Because of this, they are often called immutable. In other words, it would be a huge effort to change an entry in the database, because it would require changing all of the data that comes afterwards, on every single node. In this way, it is more a system of record than a database.
Serve as a platform
Cryptocurrencies were the first platform developed using blockchain technology. Now, people have moved from the idea of a platform to exchange cryptocurrencies to a platform for smart contracts.
The term 'smart contracts' has become somewhat of a catch-all phrase, but the idea can actually be divided into several categories:
There are the 'vending machine' smart contracts coined in the 1990s by Nick Szabo. This is where machines engage after receiving an external input (a cryptocurrency), or else send a signal that triggers a blockchain activity.
There are also smart legal contracts, or Ricardian contracts. Much of this application is based on the idea that a contract is a meeting of the minds, and that it is the result of whatever the consenting parties to the contract agree to. So, a contract can be a mix of a verbal agreement, a written agreement, and now also some of the useful aspects of blockchains like timestamps, tokens, auditing, document coordination or business logic.
Finally, there are the ethereum smart contracts. These are programs which control blockchain assets, executed over interactions on the ethereum blockchain. Ethereum itself is a platform for smart contract code.
Blockchains are not built from a new technology. They are built from a unique orchestration of three existing technologies.
Authored by Nolan Bauerle; images by Maria Kuznetsov coindesk.
NEXT: WHAT IS A DISTRIBUTED LEDGER?
INDEX: A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO BITCOIN AND BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY
What is Bitcoin?
It’s a decentralized digital currency
Why Use Bitcoin?
It’s fast, cheap to use, and secure
How Can I Buy Bitcoin?
From an exchange or an individual
How to Buy Bitcoin in the UK
Buying bitcoin in the UK
How to Store Your Bitcoin
Use a digital or paper wallet
What Can You Buy with Bitcoin?
Spend your bitcoins
How to Sell Bitcoin
A guide on how to sell your bitcoins
How to Accept Bitcoin Payments for Your Store
Learn about bitcoin POS systems
How do Bitcoin Transactions Work?
Bitcoin addresses and private keys
Is Bitcoin Legal?
The current regulation around bitcoin
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
The founder of bitcoin
How Bitcoin Mining Works
By confirming transactions
How to Set Up a Bitcoin Miner
Generate bitcoins yourself
What are Bitcoin Mining Pools?
What are pools how and how to join them?
How Does Cloud Mining Bitcoin Work?
Alternative bitcoin mining solutions
How to Calculate Mining Profitability
Can you make a ROI?
How to Make a Paper Bitcoin Wallet
Creating an unhackable bitcoin wallet
Can Bitcoin Scale?
A look at the debate and the tech
What is SegWit?
A new way of storing transaction data
What is the Lightning Network?
Off-chain transaction channels
What is Bitcoin Cash?
Same blockchain, different characteristics.
Hard Fork vs Soft Fork
Why and how do blockchains split?
What is the Difference Between Litecoin and Bitcoin?
It’s the silver to bitcoin’s gold
How to Buy Litecoin
How to buy the bitcoin alternative litecoin
How to Mine Litecoin and other Altcoins
How to generate your own altcoins
Understanding Bitcoin Price Charts
A primer on bitcoin price charts
Bitcoin E-Commerce Services for Merchants
How to accept bitcoin at your business
What is Blockchain Technology?
A system of distributed data and logic
How Does Blockchain Technology Work?
Cryptographic keys, distributed networks and network servicing protocols
What Can a Blockchain Do?
Identity, recordkeeping, smart contracts and more
What is a Distributed Ledger?
A dynamic, independently maintained database
What is the Difference Between Public and Permissioned Blockchains?
Can anyone read or write to the ledger?
What is the Difference Between a Blockchain and a Database?
It begins with architectural and administrative decisions
What Are the Applications and Use Cases of Blockchains?
Tokenization, auditing, governance, settlement and more
How Could Blockchain Technology Change Finance?
Cross-border payments, new asset classes, regulatory compliance and more
What are Blockchain’s Issues and Limitations?
Complexity, size, costs, speed, security, politics and more
Why Use a Blockchain?
To manage and secure digital relationships as part of a system of record
What is Ethereum?
A blockchain application platform and ‘world computer’
What is Ether?
The ‘fuel’ of the ethereum network
How to Use Ethereum
Wallets, trading and ‘dapps’
Who Created Ethereum?
Vitalik Buterin
How Ethereum Mining Works
‘Proof of Work’ and ‘Proof of Stake’
How to Mine Ethereum
GPUs, mining software and pools
How Ethereum Works
‘Turing-complete’ programming, ‘state’ and the ‘EVM’
What is a Decentralized Application?
A distributed ‘smart contract’ system
What is a DAO?
A ‘decentralized autonomous organization’
How Do Ethereum Smart Contracts Work?
Code, transaction fees and ‘gas’
How Will Ethereum Scale?
‘Sharding’ and ‘off-chain’ transactions
What is an ICO?
Initial Coin Offerings refer to the distribution of digital tokens.
Read the full article
So, to stay ahead of change, banks have been proactive in setting up R&D labs, building test centers and establishing partnerships with blockchain developers to fully understand the revolutionary potential of the technology.
Financial institutions were the first to dip their feet in, but academia, governments and consulting firms have also studied the technology.
All of this work is, of course, in addition to what the entrepreneurs and developers are doing, either by finding new ways to use the bitcoin or ethereum blockchains, or else creating entirely new blockchains.
This has been going on for over three years now, and the results are starting to come in.
While some of the waters are still murky, this is what we know a blockchain can do:
Establish digital identity
As discussed in our guide "How Does Blockchain Technology Work?", the identity component of blockchain technology is fulfilled through the use of cryptographic keys. Combining a public and private key creates a strong digital identity reference based on possession.
A public key is how you are identified in the crowd (like an email address), a private key is how you express consent to digital interactions. Cryptography is an important force behind the blockchain revolution.
Serve as a system of record
As stated in our guide "What is a Distributed Ledger?", blockchains are an innovation in information registration and distribution. They are good for recording both static data (a registry) or dynamic data (transactions), making it an evolution in systems of record.
In the case of a registry, data can be stored on blockchains in any combination of three ways:
Unencrypted data – can be read by every blockchain participant in the blockchain and is fully transparent.
Encrypted data – can be read by participants with a decryption key. The key provides access to the data on the blockchain and can prove who added the data and when it was added.
Hashed data – can be presented alongside the function that created it to show the data wasn't tampered with.
Blockchain hashes are generally done in combination with the original data stored off-chain. Digital 'fingerprints', for example, are often hashed into the blockchain, while the main body of information can be stored offline.
Such a shared system of record can change the way disparate organizations work together.
Currently, with data siloed in private servers, there is an enormous cost for inter-company transactions involving processes, procedures and cross-checking of records.
Prove immutability
A feature of a blockchain database is that is has a history of itself. Because of this, they are often called immutable. In other words, it would be a huge effort to change an entry in the database, because it would require changing all of the data that comes afterwards, on every single node. In this way, it is more a system of record than a database.
Serve as a platform
Cryptocurrencies were the first platform developed using blockchain technology. Now, people have moved from the idea of a platform to exchange cryptocurrencies to a platform for smart contracts.
The term 'smart contracts' has become somewhat of a catch-all phrase, but the idea can actually be divided into several categories:
There are the 'vending machine' smart contracts coined in the 1990s by Nick Szabo. This is where machines engage after receiving an external input (a cryptocurrency), or else send a signal that triggers a blockchain activity.
There are also smart legal contracts, or Ricardian contracts. Much of this application is based on the idea that a contract is a meeting of the minds, and that it is the result of whatever the consenting parties to the contract agree to. So, a contract can be a mix of a verbal agreement, a written agreement, and now also some of the useful aspects of blockchains like timestamps, tokens, auditing, document coordination or business logic.
Finally, there are the ethereum smart contracts. These are programs which control blockchain assets, executed over interactions on the ethereum blockchain. Ethereum itself is a platform for smart contract code.
Blockchains are not built from a new technology. They are built from a unique orchestration of three existing technologies.
Authored by Nolan Bauerle; images by Maria Kuznetsov coindesk.
NEXT: WHAT IS A DISTRIBUTED LEDGER?
INDEX: A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO BITCOIN AND BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY
What is Bitcoin?
It’s a decentralized digital currency
Why Use Bitcoin?
It’s fast, cheap to use, and secure
How Can I Buy Bitcoin?
From an exchange or an individual
How to Buy Bitcoin in the UK
Buying bitcoin in the UK
How to Store Your Bitcoin
Use a digital or paper wallet
What Can You Buy with Bitcoin?
Spend your bitcoins
How to Sell Bitcoin
A guide on how to sell your bitcoins
How to Accept Bitcoin Payments for Your Store
Learn about bitcoin POS systems
How do Bitcoin Transactions Work?
Bitcoin addresses and private keys
Is Bitcoin Legal?
The current regulation around bitcoin
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
The founder of bitcoin
How Bitcoin Mining Works
By confirming transactions
How to Set Up a Bitcoin Miner
Generate bitcoins yourself
What are Bitcoin Mining Pools?
What are pools how and how to join them?
How Does Cloud Mining Bitcoin Work?
Alternative bitcoin mining solutions
How to Calculate Mining Profitability
Can you make a ROI?
How to Make a Paper Bitcoin Wallet
Creating an unhackable bitcoin wallet
Can Bitcoin Scale?
A look at the debate and the tech
What is SegWit?
A new way of storing transaction data
What is the Lightning Network?
Off-chain transaction channels
What is Bitcoin Cash?
Same blockchain, different characteristics.
Hard Fork vs Soft Fork
Why and how do blockchains split?
What is the Difference Between Litecoin and Bitcoin?
It’s the silver to bitcoin’s gold
How to Buy Litecoin
How to buy the bitcoin alternative litecoin
How to Mine Litecoin and other Altcoins
How to generate your own altcoins
Understanding Bitcoin Price Charts
A primer on bitcoin price charts
Bitcoin E-Commerce Services for Merchants
How to accept bitcoin at your business
What is Blockchain Technology?
A system of distributed data and logic
How Does Blockchain Technology Work?
Cryptographic keys, distributed networks and network servicing protocols
What Can a Blockchain Do?
Identity, recordkeeping, smart contracts and more
What is a Distributed Ledger?
A dynamic, independently maintained database
What is the Difference Between Public and Permissioned Blockchains?
Can anyone read or write to the ledger?
What is the Difference Between a Blockchain and a Database?
It begins with architectural and administrative decisions
What Are the Applications and Use Cases of Blockchains?
Tokenization, auditing, governance, settlement and more
How Could Blockchain Technology Change Finance?
Cross-border payments, new asset classes, regulatory compliance and more
What are Blockchain’s Issues and Limitations?
Complexity, size, costs, speed, security, politics and more
Why Use a Blockchain?
To manage and secure digital relationships as part of a system of record
What is Ethereum?
A blockchain application platform and ‘world computer’
What is Ether?
The ‘fuel’ of the ethereum network
How to Use Ethereum
Wallets, trading and ‘dapps’
Who Created Ethereum?
Vitalik Buterin
How Ethereum Mining Works
‘Proof of Work’ and ‘Proof of Stake’
How to Mine Ethereum
GPUs, mining software and pools
How Ethereum Works
‘Turing-complete’ programming, ‘state’ and the ‘EVM’
What is a Decentralized Application?
A distributed ‘smart contract’ system
What is a DAO?
A ‘decentralized autonomous organization’
How Do Ethereum Smart Contracts Work?
Code, transaction fees and ‘gas’
How Will Ethereum Scale?
‘Sharding’ and ‘off-chain’ transactions
What is an ICO?
Initial Coin Offerings refer to the distribution of digital tokens.
Read the full article
Satoshi Nakamoto
Keine Verbindung
Verbindung wird wiederhergestellt
Etwas ist schiefgelaufen
Wir sind gleich wieder da