About Blockchain

At its core, blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that stores data of any kind. A blockchain can record information about cryptocurrency transactions, NFT ownership or DeFi smart contracts. While any conventional database can store this sort of information, blockchain is unique in that it’s totally decentralized. Rather than being maintained in one location, by a centralized administrator think of an Excel spreadsheet or a bank database many identical copies of a blockchain database are held on multiple computers spread out across a network. These individual computers are referred to as nodes. A private blockchain, meanwhile, is controlled by an organization or group. Only it can decide who is invited to the system plus it has the authority to go back and alter the blockchain. This private blockchain process is more similar to an in-house data storage system except spread over multiple nodes to increase security.

Due to the cryptographic nature of these networks, payments via blockchain can be more secure than standard debit/credit card transactions. When making a Bitcoin payment, for instance, you don’t need to provide any sensitive information. That means there is almost zero risk of your financial information being compromised, or your identity being stolen. Blockchain technology is also exciting because it has many uses beyond cryptocurrency. Blockchains are being used to explore medical research, improve the accuracy of healthcare records, streamline supply chains, and so much more.