What Is Blockchain? Explained In 200 Words

Blockchain is known as a disrupter to the traditional currency.

The most-discussed and the hottest buzz words of this era, it refers to a chain of blocks where blocks are data (cryptographically secured) bounded to each other in time-stamped, immutable series, called a chain.

Blockchain is a public ledger of digital information – i.e., it is a secure network on top of the internet.

Information in blocks can be anything – a transaction, contract, ownership, identity, money, agreement and anything that has some value.

Characteristics:

• It’s immutable – can’t modify but append the block in the chain
• Data is encrypted and stored in a decentralized manner
• No redundant data
• No central authority
• Anyone in the network can see it using public/private keys
• No transaction cost
• Recorded with time-stamp

By having the groundbreaking potential to eliminate central authority and with ubiquitous availability, it has grabbed significant interests worldwide.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are famous applications of Blockchain.

It can be used for:

• Financial services
• Digital IDs
• Asset management
• Smart contracts
• Supply chain management

Blockchain is suitable for the transfer of value (payment system) due to its transparency, decentralization, and security.