Introduction to Blockchain

Blockchain

Blockchain is an immutable record, or ledger. , a record keeping device which allows the keepers of a ledger to tell a story. These key concepts include security, trustless-ness, decentralization, distributed ledgers, group consensus and immutability. Another core component of blockchain technologies is cryptography – the study of how to pass information back and forth in the presence of adversaries, bad actors, or simply audiences with no need to know. The blockchain story begins with a white paper published by an anonymous author ten years ago. Blockchain started as a vision written by Satoshi Nakamoto. The ideas presented in this white paper lead to the world's first and largest Blockchain - Bitcoin. Blockchain is a basic security and record keeping system that controls and manages the Bitcoin network.

Why Use Blockchain?  

The oldest and most popular system of system architecture is the central method. In a centralized solution there is usually one owner or small group of solution owners, the data the solution works with, and the infrastructure that delivers the solution. In other words, all layers and parts of the solution are managed and controlled by the central officer. The segregation process removes moderate ownership and control at all levels. Blockchain platforms and extended applications often leave the client / server to use the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) method. P2P network, all nodes or computers are equal to all others. No servers, all client nodes and servers simultaneously. In the blockchain the ledger is stored, updated, and maintained by a peer-to-peer network. Imagine if you were trying to attack a network with this type of property, you could not perform a denial-of-service denial. The only real way to attack a network like this would be to capture every single node offline. If you enlarge this image, say 10x or 100x (add notes) you can see how powerful and secure this network is. When an offline node returns to the internet it can automatically sync the backup to the current state of the book with other online nodes. Types of Blockchain, Public vs. Private, Open vs. Closed, Permissioned vs. Permissionless.

 What is a “block”?  

A block in a blockchain is like a piece of paper. To block together today, all data in a block is run by a special function called a "cryptographic hash". Cryptographic hash creates a separate output or identifier for specific inputs. Cryptography is widely used in Blockchain to address privacy concerns, ensure data integrity, and help direct group compliance processes. Cryptography is a study of how to send information back and forth securely in the presence of enemies. There are many benefits to Blockchain solutions that include public verification, security, transparency, and cost savings.

Merkle trees: A hash function is a one-way function that takes any type of data as input and converts it into a unique 20-digit code. Blockchains use Merkle Trees to verify data quickly and efficiently. Merkle trees summarize the entire set of data in a block by creating a hash root for that data. The root hash is obtained by multiplying pairs of children's data nodes until one node is left. The last remaining place for a child is known as the Merkle root. Once a transaction is broadcast on a blockchain network it takes time for these actions to be verified. It does this because what is being done is guaranteed by the parties. When the action is initiated, it is sent to the pool with other unconfirmed operations. Nodes combine these actions and select blocks that will be added to the series.

FORK:   

A fork is a change of protocol. There are two types of forks, a hard and soft fork. A hard fork is a fork where the data is not backward compatible. This results in a new blockchain being created. A soft fork occurs when data is backward compatible, resulting in a change that would not create a new blockchain. Consensus Proof of Work and Proof of Stake. Bitcoin implemented Byzantine Fault Tolerance through a validation system called Proof of Work. . Proof of Stake consensus uses a system where “validator” nodes each give or pay a stake in order to validate transactions. When Bitcoin went live in 2009, blockchain was nothing more than a record keeping device, a place to permanently record data for future use. Bitcoin and other platforms which only offer the ability to store and retrieve data are often referred to as "blockchain 1.0" platforms. In 2015 Ethereum introduced the concept of "blockchain 2.0" platforms by introducing the concept of Smart Contracts. Specific to the Ethereum Blockchain is the concept of gas. This concept was born out of a limitation the developers of Ethereum. Gas is simply how users pay for the cost of a transaction to be processed or validated on the Ethereum Blockchain.

Who is actually using blockchain technology and what value are they getting out of it?  

Ability to verify and validate someone's documents, diplomas or claims for academic achievement. With validation and unchanged data in the blockchain, fraudulent success will be in vain. For example, fake medical degrees are a real and urgent problem. An congressional committee more than 25 years ago estimated that there were some 5,000 fake doctors in the United States alone. That figure is believed to have grown at an astonishing rate since then due to the proliferation of fraudulent qualifications sold on the internet. People have them and will continue to die at the hands of these fake titles. Blockchain provides an effective solution to this problem. Personal Identity, Land Registration, Financial Services - Clearance of Securities, Global Supply Chain, Health Care, Airlines, Economics With Token, Payment Stations. Blockchain adoption: Blockchain is considered more than half of the world's 500 richest companies according to the Juniper Market Research Survey. It is estimated that $ 2.3 billion was spent on the blockchain by the end of 2018. What will be the effect of this? Blockchain brings internet value.

 What is WEB 3.0?

Web 3.0 plans to decentralize finance. One thing is for certain about web 3.0, it will not look anything like web 2.0 or web 1.0. All of the previous web components will still be critical pieces, but entirely new business models will open up with web 3.0. Individual consumers will be able to do things that were previously reserved for only the richest and most powerful organizations on earth. The effects this will have are going to be profound and transformative.

 Blockchain is not always a better alternative to a database:  Additional physical challenges with blockchain today include the fact that blockchain technology is still evolving and evolving, best practices and recommended implementation patterns are still being developed. There are not many trained resources therefore, the cost of trained resources is high. Finally, scalability is a key factor when it comes to blockchain. Blockchain prioritizes security over speed. Therefore, solutions that require high transaction speed are not good Blockchain candidates. Different group consensus approaches beyond proof of work are currently being proposed in order to overcome current measurement limitations. Today, most large public blockchain is able to process 10-20 transactions per second worldwide. Data Empire is another factor to consider when comparing blockchain solutions to conventional ones.