What is the Blockchain?

Blockchain Overview

In short, the blockchain is like a digital ledger, where all transactions in the world are recorded. There are several blockchains, the best known of which are, for example, the Bitcoin network, Ethereum and BSC, among others. In addition, some blockchains have the ability to make smart contracts which are also recorded in the blockchain and any user can have access to read them.

If you want to know more about the blockchain, here are some more details.

Definition of blockchain: Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network. An asset can be tangible (a house, a car, cash, land) or intangible (intellectual property, patents, copyrights, trademarks). Virtually anything of value can be tracked and traded on a blockchain network, reducing risk and costs for all involved.

Why blockchain is important: Businesses run on information. The faster they get it and the more accurate it is, the better. Blockchain is ideal for getting that information, as it provides immediate, shared and completely transparent data stored in an unalterable distributed ledger to which only authorised members have access. A blockchain network can track orders, payments, accounts, production details and much more. And because users share a single authoritative source of information, you can see all the details of a transaction from start to finish, allowing you to build greater trust and efficiency, as well as more opportunities.

Benefits of blockchain

What needs to change: Operations often waste effort on duplicate record keeping and third-party validations. Record-keeping systems can be vulnerable to fraud and cyber-attacks. Limited transparency can slow down data verification. In addition, with the advent of IoT, the number of transactions has grown exponentially. All of this slows down business, hurts the bottom line and means we need to improve the way we do things. Enter blockchain.

Greater trust

If you use a private network that only members have access to, with blockchain you can be confident that you will receive accurate and timely data, and that your confidential blockchain records will be shared only with specific members of the network that you have authorised.

Increased security

All network members must reach consensus on the accuracy of the data and all validated transactions are unalterable as they are permanently recorded. No one, not even a system administrator, can delete a transaction.

More efficiency

With a distributed ledger shared among members of a network, time wasted on record reconciliation actions is eliminated. And to speed up transactions, a set of rules, called a smart contract, is stored on the blockchain and executed automatically.

Source:www.ibm.com