Blockchain: An Exhaustive Guide To Learning Blockchain Technologies

by Adrian McNulty

The blockchain is probably best known as the technology that cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin) are based on. But in fact a blockchain can serve a far greater variety of purposes. A blockchain is, broadly speaking, a decentralized, permanent ledger of data or assets. The blockchain traces the transfer or exchange of those assets, and by extension, it traces the transactions between its users. Blockchains can be used to perform all the same transactions that any other system would allow, but the blockchain has the added benefit of being faster, more reliable, more open, more secure, and less costly to administer than typical options. Individuals would once have to manage records of their transactions and interactions manually, and build up their own network of trust. For example, your bank may keep all of your debit transactions on file, but may only provide the last few months or years of transactions through their web interface, meaning you either have to continuously download your transaction record, save all of your bank statements, or visit the bank to get a detailed record. But in a blockchain, all of these records would always be visible to you immediately, reliably, and securely. Furthermore, certain users would need to have certain privileges and permissions to oversee and approve the transactions before the transactions were completed. But in the blockchain, all of this authorization and trust is done in the ledger. In other words, in a blockchain, the data is doing the work of the people. Here's what you'll find inside the book :

107 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 9, 2018