In: Computer Science
Please no plagiarism and must be in your own 500 words
the concept of Blockchain. There is still much confusion regarding what Blockchain is and what it is not. Please discuss your explanation of Blockchain to include why it has been gaining so much popularity.
What is Blockchain?
Blockchain is a type of record-keeping technology its name gives
away its USP. In simple terms it's a chain of blocks, these blocks
hold data and provide a safer and easier way of storing and
retrieving data.
Structure of Blockchain?
Blockchain, the idea was first floated in 1991 it went by mostly
unused
until it was adapted by Bitcoin in 2009 to create a digital
cryptocurrency.
To understand how blockv]cahin we have to dive deep and analyze
piece by piece.
A block consists of certain data, the hash of the data, the hash of
the previous data.
The bitcoin block for example has 1)From: sender 2)To: Reciver
3)Amount.
A hash is like a digital fingerprint which gives each block a
unique identity. The hash changes if any change is made to the
block.
Now, the hash of previous data is what makes the blocks interlinked
like a chain.
A single block on the Bitcoin blockchain can store around 1 MB of
data. Depending on the size of the transactions, that means a
single block can house a few thousand transactions under one
roof.
How does it work?
When a block stores new data it is added to the blockchain. For a
block to be added to the blockchain, however, four things must
happen:
1)First the data is created.
2)The data is verified.
3)The data is stored in a block.
4)That block must be given a hash.
How secure is it?
Blockchain has several security measures to protect from data
tampering.
The idea of hash is to protect the integrity of the chain, if data
of a block is tampered with its hash would get modified and other
blocks would not be able to link with it. Another way blockchain is
secured that it uses
the method of proof-of-work. It slows the process of creating new
blocks. This makes tampering hard if you change one block then we
need to prove the work of all other blocks.
Blockchain doesn't use central management it uses a Peer-2-Peer
transmission network. Anybody who joins a blockchain gets a copy of
the blockchain. Anyone inspecting the Blockchain is capable of
seeing every transaction and its hash value. Someone using the
Blockchain can be anonymous if they wish or they can give their
identification to others. All that you see on the Blockchain is a
record of transactions between Blockchain addresses.
Why is it popular?
With the surge in popularity of Bitcoin the popularity of
Blockchain has also skyrocketed. Some reasons for its popularity
are:
1)It's cryptographically secure
2)It's decentralized structure.
3) It's completely automated.
4) Ease of accessing/retrieving/storing data.