What is Blockchain? Everything you need to know about Blockchain Technology

Introduction:

A Blockchain is simply termed as a chain of blocks where the records of data that are managed by the cluster of computers that are not owned by a single entity. The “blocks” refers to the digital information that is stored in a public database linked through cryptography called “chains”. Blockchain technology was launched in August 2011 and served worldwide. These records or blocks get copied automatically with the mechanism of cryptography providing a more secure data storage platform. This means, your data is stored securely in multiple areas, reducing the overall cost of data storage. The Blockchain is the technology which supports the cryptocurrencies and Digital currencies.

Blockchain technology:

Blockchain, sometimes referred to as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), makes the history of any digital asset unalterable and transparent through the use of decentralization and cryptographic hashing.

A simple analogy for understanding blockchain technology is a Google Doc. When we create a document and share it with a group of people, the document is distributed instead of copied or transferred. This creates a decentralized distribution chain that gives everyone access to the document at the same time. No one is locked out awaiting changes from another party, while all modifications to the doc are being recorded in real-time, making changes completely transparent.

Industries that use Blockchain technology:

There are several industries which already started to use Blockchain Technology, and many others are in their development stage. The implementation of blockchain technology will improve the speed of banking services.

• Banking & Finance.
• Automobile & Transportation.
• Healthcare
• Online shopping
• eLearning
• Real estate, trading
• Retail, Logistics, and manufacturing.

The three pillars of blockchain technology.

The three main properties of Blockchain Technology which have helped it gain widespread acclaim are as follows:

• Decentralization.
• Transparency.
• Immutability.

Blockchain solutions:

IBM Blockchain solutions. An enormous transformative era in business is taking place right now. Innovators, entrepreneurs, and forward-thinking are embracing IBM blockchain solutions to bring evolutionary trust and transparency to supply chains, global trade, international payments, the world’s food supply, and many more.

• Infosys blockchain solutions.

Infosys is helping clients create a reliable, trusted, and sustainable ecosystem for their businesses. Markets around the world are witnessing the emergence of a new stakeholder “prosumer” in many industries as the lines between producers and consumers of goods and services are blurred.

A new asset class — ‘data’ is fundamentally transforming how value is created, captured, and distributed. Blockchain and (Distributor Ledger Technology) DLTs will enable enterprises to reshape the market landscape across suppliers, buyers, new entrants, governments, regulators.

Blockchain development:

Nowadays, Blockchain has become the most discussed topic around many businesses, especially in the IT Field. This technology has made a new gateway for payments which is extremely secure.

Blockchain has resulted in the development of thousands of new job positions and new startups, ranging from mobile payment solutions to health care applications.

Blockchain technology increases security and speeds up the exchange of information in a way that is cost-effective and more transparent.

The high importance of Blockchain has attracted the attention of organizations in different sectors, with the banking sector being the most active at this stage.

Development capabilities also include:

· Blockchain deployment and development with web3, solidity, cakeshop and truffle.

· Smart contracts and custom app frameworks like Open Zeppelin.

· Application and data science engineering using Python.

· Enterprise native mobile apps with Swift and Objective-C.

· Web platforms using Phoenix / Elixir and serverless architecture.

Blockchain trend:

According to one report, the use of blockchain technology to secure data and devices in the internet of things (IoT) doubled during 2018.

This trend is likely to continue next year and beyond, as more organizations wake up to the potential of distributed, encrypted ledger technology in this field.

• Blockchain as a service (baas) by big tech companies.

It is a new blockchain trend that is currently integrated with several startups as well as enterprises. BaaS is a cloud-based service that enables users to develop their own digital products by working with Blockchain.

• Federated blockchain moves to the center stage.

Blockchain networks can be classified as Private, Public, Federated or Hybrid.

The term Federated Blockchain can be referred to as one of the best Blockchain latest trends in the industry. It is merely an upgraded form of the basic blockchain model, which makes it more ideal for many specific use cases. In this type of Blockchain, instead of one organization, multiple authorities can control the pre-selected nodes of Blockchain.

• Stablecoins will be more visible

Using Bitcoin as an example of cryptocurrencies, it’s highly volatile in nature. To avoid that stable volatility, the coin came into the picture strongly with stable values associated with each coin.

As of now, stable coins are in their initial phase and it is predicted that 2020 will be the year when blockchain stablecoins will achieve their all-time high.

• Social networking problems meet blockchain solutions.

There are around 2.77 Billion social media users around the globe in 2019. The introduction of Blockchain in social media will be able to solve the problems related to notorious scandals, privacy violations, data control, and content relevance. Therefore, the blockchain blend in the social media domain is another emerging technology trend in 2020.

• Blockchain with AI

With the integration of AI (Artificial Intelligence) with blockchain technology will make for better development. This integration will show a level of improvement in blockchain technology with an adequate amount of applications.

Moreover, AI can boost blockchain efficiency far better than humans, or even standard computing can. A look at the way in which blockchains are currently run on standard computers proves this with a lot of processing power needed to perform even basic tasks.

How Blockchain works:

When a block stores new data it is added to the Blockchain. Blockchain, as its name suggests, consists of multiple blocks strung together. In order for a block to be added to the Blockchain, however, four things must happen:

1. A transaction must occur. Let’s continue with the example of your impulsive Amazon purchase. After hastily clicking through multiple checkouts prompts, you go against your better judgment and make a purchase. As we discussed above, in many cases a block will group together potentially thousands of transactions, so your Amazon purchase will be packaged in the block along with other users’ transaction information as well.

2. That transaction must be verified. After making that purchase, your transaction must be verified. With other public records of information, like the Securities Exchange Commission, Wikipedia, or your local library, there’s someone in charge of vetting new data entries. With Blockchain, however, that job is left up to a network of computers.

3. That transaction must be stored in a block. After your transaction has been verified as accurate, it gets the green light. The transaction’s dollar amount, your digital signature, and Amazon’s digital signature are all stored in a block. There, the transaction will likely join hundreds, or thousands, of others like it.

4. That block must be given a hash. Not unlike an angel earning its wings, once all of a block’s transactions have been verified, it must be given a unique, identifying code called a hash. The block is also given the hash of the most recent block added to the Blockchain. Once hashed, the block can be added to the Blockchain.