Hello Steemitian i'm back with another hot topic which buzz a lot around the world-- BLOCKCHAIN. Most of us don't know about blockchain yet so read this post and become a master in blockchain..
Blockchain has been something of a buzzword for a while now. First introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto, to work with the currency he/ she created: Bitcoin.
Although nobody is sure about anything related to Mr. Satoshi, his/ her legacy had far reaching effects. It brought about an interest towards blockchain. The seemingly miraculous solution to many of our problems. Although it’s been implemented by several governments and organizations, it remains to be seen what other implications blockchain will have in our lives.
Blockchain has 4 major features, which make it special. They are:
- Public distributed ledger:
The blockchain is accessible to everyone who’s part of the network. The users can even access the transaction details from the time the blockchain was created. The users however don’t get access to the identities of the people involved in the transactions.
The transaction details added to the blockchain are permanent, and cannot be altered.
There’s no central authority like a bank that controls the blockchain. This prevents any data alteration that can take effect by hacking this central authority. The users in the network ensure that no alteration to the block can stay permanent, as each user has a copy of the blockchain.
The block can hold transaction details not only regarding money, but also real estate, vehicles and so on.
- Hash Encryption:
Blockchain uses the SHA256 algorithm to secure its data.
The sender’s address (his/her public key), the receiver’s address, the details of the transaction and his/her private key are passed through the SHA256 algorithm. The encrypted output obtained then is transmitted across the world. After it is verified, it is added to the blockchain.
The SHA256 algorithm makes hacking the data near impossible, and makes the verification of the sender’s and receiver’s authenticity very easy.
- Proof of Work:
Every block in a blockchain has 4 major headers.
Previous Hash: The hash address that can uniquely identify the preceding block.
Transaction Details: The details on various transactions that are to take place.
Nonce: The random value that is used to variate the value of the hash address of the block
Hash Address of the Block: The values of previous hash, transaction details and nonce are passed through a hashing algorithm. The output obtained, which is a 256-bit, 64-character long value is the hash address that is used to uniquely identify the block. This output is the hash of the block.
Proof of work involves several people around the world using computational algorithms to find an appropriate hash value that satisfies a predetermined condition. (For example: The output hex value should start with 5 zeros)
- Mining:
The person who finds the nonce that satisfies the hash requirement for the block is awarded the 12.5 bitcoins. The last transaction in every block assigns 12.5 BTC to the miner as a reward. This is the only way to generate new Bitcoins. Every 4 years the reward for mining a block reduces. The next halving, which would take place in 2020 would reduce the reward to 6.25 BTC.
Blockchain isn’t exclusively used by bitcoin alone.
Other industries that use this technology are:
Travel: To ease the verification of documents
Music: To stop music piracy and to compensate artists for songs that have been purchased
These are just two of the many use cases that Blockchain has. It’s safe to say, the future of Blockchain looks bright!
I hope this helped you understand the blockchain. This is your bloggist Ashish will back soon with another topic till then stay safe good bye :)
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