Each node on a computer network shares a blockchain, which is a shared database or ledger. As a database, a blockchain stores information electronically in digital format. Blockchains are best known for their crucial role in cryptocurrency systems, such as Bitcoin, in maintaining a secure, decentralized record of transactions. The innovation of a blockchain is that it guarantees the fidelity and security of a data record and builds trust without the need for a trusted third party.
A key difference between a typical database and a blockchain is how the data is structured. A blockchain gathers information into groups, known as blocks, which contain sets of information. The blocks have some storage capacity and, when filled, are closed and linked to the previously filled block, forming a data chain known as a blockchain. All new information following that newly added block is compiled into a newly formed block that, once filled, will also be added to the chain.
In a Nutshell
- A blockchain is a particular kind of shared database that varies from other databases in that it saves data in blocks that are subsequently connected via cryptography.
- A new block is created for each new piece of data that comes in. Data is chained in chronological sequence once the block has been filled with information by being connected with the block before it.
- Although other kinds of information can be maintained on a blockchain, a transaction ledger has so far been its most popular use.
- Blockchain is utilized in the context of Bitcoin in a decentralized manner, meaning that all users collectively hold power over the system rather than any one person or organization.
- Since decentralized blockchains are immutable, the data entered into them cannot be changed. This applies to Bitcoin in that all transactions are permanently recorded and available for public inspection.
A database usually structures its data in tables, while a blockchain, as its name suggests, structures its data in chunks (blocks) that are chained together. This data structure makes an irreversible chronology of data when implemented in a decentralized manner. When a block is completed, it is set in stone and becomes part of this timeline. Each block in the chain receives an exact timestamp when it is added to the chain.
How Does a Blockchain Work?
The goal of blockchain is to make it possible to record and share digital information without being able to change it. Thus, a blockchain is the basis for immutable ledgers, or transaction records that cannot be altered, deleted, or destroyed. For this reason, blockchains are also known as distributed ledger technology (DLT).
First proposed as a research project in 1991, the blockchain concept predates its first widespread application in use: Bitcoin, in 2009. Since then, blockchain usage has exploded with the creation of various cryptocurrencies, decentralized financial applications (DeFi), non fungible tokens (NFT) and smart contracts.
Transaction Process
Attributes of the Cryptocurrency
Decentralization of the Blockchain
Let’s say a company has a server farm with 10,000 computers that are used to keep a database of all of its customers’ account information up to date. This company has a warehouse that contains all of these computers under one roof and has full control over each of them and all of the information they contain. However, this is a single point of failure. What happens if the power goes out at that location? What if the Internet connection goes down? What if it catches fire? What if an evildoer deletes everything with a single keystroke? In any case, data is lost or corrupted.
“Blockchain is the future of trust.”
Adam Back
What a blockchain does is allow the data contained in that database to be distributed among several nodes in the network in different locations. Not only does this create redundancy, but it also maintains the fidelity of the data stored in it: if someone attempts to alter a record in one instance of the database, the other nodes would not be altered and thus a bad actor would be prevented from doing so.
If a user manipulates the Bitcoin transaction log, all the other nodes would compare with each other and easily locate the node with the incorrect information. This system helps to establish an accurate and transparent order of events. In this way, no node in the network can alter the information it contains.
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Thus, the information and history (e.g., of transactions of a cryptocurrency) are irreversible. Such a record could be a list of transactions (e.g., with a cryptocurrency), but it is also possible for a blockchain to contain other information, such as legal contracts, state IDs, or a company’s product inventory.
To validate new entries or records in a block, it is necessary for the majority of the computing power of the decentralized network to agree. To prevent malicious agents from validating erroneous transactions or double spending, blockchains are secured by a consensus mechanism such as proof of work (PoW) or proof of stake (PoS). These mechanisms allow agreement to be reached even when there is no single node in charge.
Transparency
Due to the fact that the Bitcoin blockchain is decentralized, all transactions can be seen in a clear way by anyone with a personal node or by using blockchain explorers, which let anyone see transactions as they happen in real time. Each node has its own copy of the chain, which is updated as new blocks are confirmed and added. This means that, if you wish, you can keep track of Bitcoin wherever you go.
For example, exchanges have been hacked in the past, where those who kept Bitcoin in the exchange lost everything. While the hacker may be totally anonymous, the Bitcoins they mined are easily traceable. If the Bitcoins stolen in some of these hacks were moved or spent somewhere, it would be known.
Of course, records stored on the Bitcoin blockchain (as well as most others) are encrypted. This means that only the owner of a record can decrypt it to reveal his or her identity (using a public private key pair). As a result, blockchain users can remain anonymous while preserving transparency.
What is Blockchain?
Is Blockchain Secure?
Blockchain technology achieves decentralized security and trust in several ways. For starters, new blocks are always stored linearly and chronologically. That is, they are always added to the “end” of the blockchain. Once a block has been added to the end of the blockchain, it is extremely difficult to go back and alter its contents unless the majority of the network has reached a consensus to do so.
This is because each block contains its own hash, along with the hash of the previous block, and the timestamp mentioned above. A mathematical function takes digital information and turns it into a string of numbers and letters. If that information is modified in any way, the hash code also changes.
Suppose a hacker, who also runs a node in a blockchain network, wants to alter a blockchain and steal cryptocurrency from everyone else. If he were to alter his own copy, it would no longer match everyone else’s copy. When everyone else compares their copies, they will see that this copy stands out, and that hacker’s version of the chain will be discarded as illegitimate.
To be successful with such a hack would require the hacker to simultaneously control and alter 51% or more of the copies of the blockchain so that their new copy would become the majority copy and thus the agreed upon chain. Such an attack would also require an immense amount of money and resources, as they would have to remake all the blocks because they would now have different timestamps and hash codes.
Due to the size of many cryptocurrency networks and how fast they are growing, the cost of accomplishing such a feat would likely be insurmountable. Not only would it be extremely expensive, but also probably unsuccessful. Doing something like this would not go unnoticed, as network members would see such drastic alterations to the blockchain.
Network members would then do a hard fork to a new version of the chain that had not been affected. This would cause the value of the attacked version of the token to plummet, rendering the attack ultimately useless, as the malefactor has control of a worthless asset. The same would be true if the malefactor attacked the new Bitcoin fork. It is constructed this way so that participating in the network is much more economically incentivized than attacking it.
Bitcoin versus Blockchain
Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta, two researchers, came up with the idea for blockchain technology in 1991. They wanted to set up a system in which the timestamps on documents could not be changed. But it wasn’t until almost two decades later, with the launch of Bitcoin in January 2009, that the blockchain had its first real world application.
The Bitcoin protocol is based on a blockchain. In a research paper introducing the digital currency, Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, referred to it as “a new fully peer to peer electronic money system with no trusted third parties.”
The key to understanding this is that Bitcoin simply uses blockchain as a means to transparently record a ledger of payments, but blockchain can, in theory, be used to immutably record any number of data points. As mentioned above, this could be transactions, votes in an election, product inventories, state IDs, housing deeds, and much more.
Tens of thousands of projects are currently trying to implement blockchain in a variety of ways to help society beyond just recording transactions, for example, as a way to securely vote in democratic elections. The immutable nature of blockchain makes it much more difficult for fraudulent voting to occur.
For example, a voting system could work in such a way that every citizen in a country would receive a unique cryptocurrency or token. Each candidate would be given a specific wallet address, and voters would send their token or cryptocurrency to the address of the candidate they wanted to vote for. The transparent and traceable nature of blockchain would eliminate both the need for human vote counting and the ability of bad actors to manipulate physical ballots.
Blockchain versus Banks
Blockchains have been heralded as a disruptive force for the financial sector, and especially with payments and banking functions. However, banks and decentralized blockchains are very different.To see how a blockchain bank differs, let’s compare the banking system with the Bitcoin blockchain implementation.
How are Blockchains Used?
As we know, the blocks of the Bitcoin blockchain store data about monetary transactions. Today, there are more than 10,000 cryptocurrency systems running on the blockchain. But it turns out that blockchain is also a reliable way to store data about other types of transactions.
Some companies that have already incorporated blockchain include Walmart, Pfizer, AIG, Siemens, Unilever and many others. For example, IBM has created its Food Trust blockchain to track the journey food products take to reach their location.Why? The food industry has seen countless outbreaks of E. coli, salmonella and listeria, as well as the accidental introduction of hazardous materials into food. In the past, it has taken weeks to find the source of these outbreaks or the cause of illness from what people are eating. Using blockchain gives brands the ability to trace the path of a food product from its origin, through each stop it makes, and finally its delivery.
If a food is found to be contaminated, it can be traced back through each stop to its origin. Not only that, but these companies can now also see everything it may have come in contact with, allowing the problem to be identified much earlier and potentially saving lives. This is one example of blockchain in practice, but there are many other ways blockchain can be implemented.
Banking and Finance
Banks may be the ones who can benefit the most from using blockchain in their business operations. Financial institutions only operate during business hours, typically five days a week. That means if you try to deposit a check on Friday at 6 p.m., you’ll probably have to wait until Monday morning to see that money in your account. Even if you make the deposit during business hours, the transaction can take one to three days to verify due to the sheer volume of transactions that banks have to clear. Blockchain, on the other hand, never sleeps.
By integrating blockchain into banks, consumers can see their transactions processed in as little as 10 minutes, basically the time it takes to add a block to the blockchain, regardless of holidays or time of day or week. With blockchain, banks also have the opportunity to exchange funds between institutions faster and more securely. In the stock market business, for example, the settlement and clearing process can take up to three days (or longer, if traded internationally), which means that money and shares are frozen for that period of time.
Given the magnitude of the sums at stake, even the few days that the money is in transit can entail significant costs and risks for banks.
Currency
Blockchain is the basis of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The U.S. dollar is controlled by the Federal Reserve. Under this central authority system, a user’s data and money are technically at the mercy of their bank or government. If a user’s bank is hacked, the customer’s private information is at risk. If the customer’s bank fails or the customer lives in a country with an unstable government, the value of their currency may be at risk. In 2008, several failed banks were bailed out, in part with taxpayer money. These are the issues that Bitcoin was designed to address.
By distributing its operations across a network of computers, blockchain allows Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to operate without the need for a central authority. This not only reduces risk, but also eliminates many of the processing and transaction fees. It can also offer those living in countries with unstable currencies or financial infrastructures a more stable currency with more applications and a wider network of people and institutions with whom they can do business, both domestically and internationally.
The use of cryptocurrency wallets for savings accounts or as a means of payment is especially profound for those who lack state identification. Some countries may be at war or have governments that lack any real infrastructure to provide identification. Citizens of these countries may have no access to savings or brokerage accounts and therefore no way to securely store wealth.
Health
Healthcare providers can leverage blockchain to securely store their patients’ medical records. When a medical record is generated and signed, it can be written to the blockchain, providing patients with proof and confidence that the record cannot be changed. These personal medical records could be encrypted and stored on the blockchain with a private key, so that they can only be accessed by specific individuals, ensuring privacy.
Land Registries
If you’ve ever spent time at your local recorder’s office, you know that the process of recording property rights is cumbersome and inefficient. Today, a physical deed must be handed to a government employee at the local recorder’s office, where it is manually entered into the county’s central database and public index. In the event of litigation, property claims must be checked against the public index.
Not only is this process costly and time consuming, it is also prone to human error, and every inaccuracy makes tracking property ownership less efficient. Blockchain has the potential to eliminate the need to scan documents and search for physical files at a local registry office. If property ownership is stored and verified on the blockchain, property owners can trust that their deed is accurate and permanently recorded.
In war torn countries or in areas with little or no government or financial infrastructure and certainly no registry office, it can be almost impossible to prove ownership of a property. If a group of people living in such an area are able to leverage blockchain, then transparent and clear timelines of property ownership could be established.
Smart Contracts
A smart contract is computer code that can be incorporated into the blockchain to facilitate, verify, or negotiate a contractual agreement. Smart contracts operate under a set of conditions that users agree to. When those conditions are met, the terms of the agreement are automatically executed.
Let’s say, for example, that a potential tenant wishes to rent an apartment using a smart lease. The landlord agrees to give the tenant the access code to the apartment as soon as the security deposit is paid. Both the tenant and the landlord would send their respective parts of the agreement to the smart contract, which would automatically store and exchange the door code for the deposit on the rental start date. If the landlord does not provide the door code on the contract date, the smart contract returns the deposit. This would eliminate the costs and processes normally associated with the use of a notary, outside mediator or lawyers.
Supply Chains
As in the IBM Food Trust example, suppliers can use blockchain to record the origins of the materials they have purchased. This would allow companies to verify the authenticity not only of their products, but also of common labels such as “Organic,” “Local,” and “Fair Trade.”As Forbes reports, the food industry is increasingly embracing the use of blockchain to track the path and safety of food along the entire journey from farm to user.
Vote
As mentioned above, blockchain could be used to facilitate a modern voting system. Voting with blockchain carries the potential to eliminate voter fraud and increase voter turnout, as proven in the November 2018 midterm elections in West Virginia. Using blockchain in this way would make votes nearly impossible to tamper with. The blockchain protocol would also maintain transparency in the election process, reducing the staff needed to run an election and providing officials with near instant results. This would eliminate the need for recounts or any real concern that fraud could threaten the election.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Blockchain
Despite its complexity, the potential of blockchain as a decentralized form of record keeping is virtually limitless. From greater user privacy and increased security to lower processing costs and fewer errors, blockchain technology may well have applications beyond those described above. But there are also some disadvantages.
- Increased accuracy by eliminating human intervention in verification
- Cost reduction by eliminating third party verification
- Decentralization makes manipulation difficult
- Transactions are secure, private and efficient
- Transparent technology
- Provides a banking alternative and a way to secure personal information for citizens in countries with unstable or underdeveloped governments
- Increased accuracy by eliminating human intervention in verification
- Cost reduction by eliminating third party verificationDecentralization makes manipulation more difficult
- Transactions are secure, private and efficient
- Transparent technology
- It offers a banking alternative and a way to protect the personal information of citizens of countries with unstable or underdeveloped governments.
- Significant technological cost associated with bitcoin mining
- Low transactions per second
- History of use in illicit activities, such as on the dark web
- Regulation varies by jurisdiction and remains uncertain
- Data storage limitations
- Significant technological cost associated with bitcoin mining
- Few transactions per second
- History of use in illicit activities, such as on the dark web
- Regulation varies by jurisdiction and remains uncertain.
- Limitations of data storage
Advantages of Blockchain
Chain Accuracy
Transactions on the blockchain network are approved by a network of thousands of computers. This almost completely eliminates human intervention in the verification process, resulting in fewer human errors and accurate recording of information. Even if one computer on the network were to make a miscalculation, the error would only affect one copy of the blockchain. For that error to propagate to the rest of the blockchain, it would have to be made by at least 51% of the computers on the network, which is nearly impossible for a network as large and growing as Bitcoin’s.
Cost Reduction
Normally, consumers pay a bank to verify a transaction, a notary to sign a document or a minister to celebrate a marriage. Blockchain eliminates the need for third party verification and, with it, its associated costs. For example, business owners incur a small fee every time they accept credit card payments, because banks and payment processing companies have to process those transactions. Bitcoin, on the other hand, has no central authority and its transaction fees are limited.
Decentralization
Blockchain does not store any information in a central location. Instead, the blockchain is copied and distributed across a network of computers. Each time a new block is added to the blockchain, all computers in the network update their chain to reflect the change. By spreading the information across the network, rather than storing it in a central database, it is more difficult to manipulate the blockchain. If a copy of the blockchain were to fall into the hands of a hacker, only one copy of the information would be compromised, not the entire network.
Efficient Transactions
Transactions made through a central authority may take several days to clear. For example, if you try to deposit a check on Friday afternoon, you may not see the funds in your account until Monday morning. While financial institutions operate during business hours, typically five days a week, blockchain operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. Transactions can be completed in as little as 10 minutes and considered secure within a few hours. This is especially useful for cross border transactions, which often take much longer due to time zone issues and the fact that all parties must confirm payment processing.
Private Transactions
Many blockchain networks work like public databases, so anyone with an Internet connection can see a list of all the transactions that have happened on the network. Users can see the details of transactions, but they can’t see who made the transactions. It is a common misconception that blockchain networks like bitcoin are anonymous, when, in fact, they are only confidential.
When a user makes a public transaction, their unique code called a public key, as mentioned above is recorded on the blockchain. Their personal information is not. If a person has made a Bitcoin purchase on an exchange that requires identification, the person’s identity is still linked to his or her address on the blockchain, but a transaction, while linked to a person’s name, does not reveal any personal information.
Secure Transactions
Once a transaction is recorded, its authenticity must be verified by the blockchain network. Thousands of computers on the blockchain rush to confirm that the purchase details are correct. Once a computer has validated the transaction, it is added to the blockchain block. Each block on the blockchain contains its own unique hash, along with the unique hash of the previous block. When the information in a block is edited in any way, the hash code of that block changes, but not the hash code of the next block. This discrepancy makes it extremely difficult for blockchain information to be changed without notice.
Transparency
Most blockchains are open source software. This means that anyone can see their code. This allows auditors to review the security of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. This also means that there is no real authority over who controls Bitcoin’s code or how it is edited. Because of this, anyone can suggest changes or updates to the system. If the majority of users on the network agree that the new version of the code with the upgrade is sound and worthwhile, then Bitcoin can be upgraded.
Banking for the Unbanked
Perhaps the most profound facet of blockchain and Bitcoin is the ability for anyone, regardless of ethnicity, gender, or cultural background, to use it. According to the World Bank, an estimated 1.7 billion adults do not have bank accounts or any means of storing their money or wealth. Almost all of these people live in developing countries, where the economy is in its infancy and relies entirely on cash.
These people often earn little money that is paid to them in physical cash. They then have to store this physical cash in hidden places in their homes or other places of residence, which exposes them to theft or unnecessary violence. The keys to a bitcoin wallet can be stored on a piece of paper, on a cheap cell phone or even memorized if necessary. For most people, these options are likely to be easier to hide than a small pile of cash under the mattress.
Blockchains of the future are also looking for solutions to not only be a unit of account for storing wealth, but also for storing medical records, property rights and a variety of other legal contracts.
Drawbacks of Blockchain
Cost of Technology
Although blockchain can save users money in transaction fees, the technology is far from free. For example, the PoW system used by the bitcoin network to validate transactions consumes enormous amounts of computing power. In the real world, the power used by the millions of computers that make up the bitcoin network is close to what Norway and Ukraine use every year.
Despite the costs of mining bitcoins, users are still running up their electricity bills to validate transactions on the blockchain. This is because when miners add a block to the bitcoin blockchain, they are rewarded with enough bitcoins to make their time and energy worthwhile. However, when it comes to blockchains that do not use cryptocurrency, miners will have to be paid or otherwise incentivized to validate transactions.
Some solutions to these problems are beginning to emerge. For example, bitcoin mining farms have been created using solar energy, leftover natural gas from fracking operations or energy from wind farms.
Speed and Data Inefficiency
Bitcoin is a perfect case study of possible blockchain inefficiencies. Bitcoin’s PoW system takes about 10 minutes to add a new block to the blockchain. At that rate, it is estimated that the blockchain network can only handle about seven transactions per second (TPS). While other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum perform better than bitcoin, they are still limited by blockchain. The legacy Visa brand, for example, can process 65,000 TPS.
Solutions to this problem have been in development for years. There are currently blockchains that can boast more than 30,000 TPS. Ethereum’s merger between its core network and the beacon chain (September 15, 2022) is expected to reach 100,000 TPS following the deployment of an upgrade that includes sharding, i.e., splitting the database so that more devices (phones, tablets and laptops) can run Ethereum. This will increase network participation, reduce congestion and increase transaction speeds.
The other problem is that each block can only hold a limited amount of data. The block size debate has been, and continues to be, one of the most pressing issues for blockchain scalability in the future.
Illegal Activity
While confidentiality in the blockchain network protects users from hacks and preserves privacy, it also enables illegal trade and activity in the network. The most cited example of blockchain use for illicit transactions is probably Silk Road, an online marketplace for illegal drugs and money laundering that operated from February 2011 until October 2013, when it was shut down by the FBI.
The dark web allows users to buy and sell illegal goods without being tracked using the Tor browser and make illegal purchases in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Current U.S. regulations require financial service providers to obtain information about their customers when they open an account, verify each customer’s identity and confirm that they are not on any list of known or suspected terrorist organizations.
This system can be considered both a pro and a con. It allows anyone to access financial accounts, but also allows criminals to transact more easily. Many have argued that the good uses of cryptocurrencies, such as banking for the unbanked world, outweigh the bad, especially when most illegal activity is still conducted through untraceable cash.
Although Bitcoin was originally used for such purposes, its transparent nature and maturity as a financial asset have caused illegal activity to migrate to other cryptocurrencies such as Monero and Dash. Today, illegal activity represents only a very small fraction of all Bitcoin transactions.
Regulation
Many in the crypto space have expressed concern about government regulation of cryptocurrencies. While it is becoming increasingly difficult—if not impossible—to bring down a decentralized network like Bitcoin, governments could make it illegal to own cryptocurrencies or participate in their networks in theory. This concern has been diminishing over time, as large companies such as PayPal begin to allow the holding and use of cryptocurrencies on their platform.
Wrap Up
With many practical applications of the technology already being implemented and explored, blockchain is finally making a name for itself, in large part due to bitcoin and cryptocurrency. As a buzzword on the tongue of every investor in the country, blockchain can make business and government operations more accurate, efficient, secure, and inexpensive, with fewer middlemen.
As we prepare to enter the third decade of blockchain, it is no longer a question of if legacy companies will catch up with the technology, but when. Today, we are witnessing a proliferation of NFT and asset tokenization. The next few decades will be an important period of growth for blockchain.
FAQs
Simply put, a blockchain is a shared database. Pieces of data are stored in data structures known as blocks, and each node in the network has an exact replica of the entire database. Security is guaranteed, as if someone attempts to edit or delete an entry in a copy of the ledger, the majority will not reflect this change and will be rejected.
The number of active blockchains is growing day by day at an ever increasing rate. By 2022, there will be more than 10,000 active blockchain based cryptocurrencies, with several hundred more non cryptocurrency blockchains.
A public blockchain, also known as an open or permissionless blockchain, is one where anyone can freely join the network and establish a node. Due to their open nature, these blockchains must be protected with cryptography and a consensus system such as proof of work (PoW).On the other hand, a private or permissioned blockchain requires each node to be approved before joining. Since the nodes are considered trusted, the security layers do not need to be as robust.
A blockchain platform allows users and developers to create new uses on top of an existing blockchain infrastructure. One example is Ethereum, which has a native cryptocurrency known as ether (ETH). But Ethereum’s blockchain also allows for the creation of smart contracts and programmable tokens used in initial coin offerings (ICOs), and non fungible tokens (NFTs). All of these are built around the Ethereum infrastructure and secured by Ethereum network nodes.
Blockchain technology was first outlined in 1991 by Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta, two mathematicians who wanted to implement a system in which the timestamps on documents could not be manipulated. In the late 1990s, cypherpunk Nick Szabo proposed using a blockchain to secure a digital payment system, known as bit gold (which was never implemented).
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