How Does a Blockchain Work?
Picture a spreadsheet that is duplicated thousands of times across a network of computers. Then imagine that this network is designed to regularly update this spreadsheet and you have a basic understanding of the blockchain.
Information held on a blockchain exists as a shared — and continually reconciled — database. This is a way of using the network that has obvious benefits. The blockchain database isn’t stored in any single location, meaning the records it keeps are truly public and easily verifiable. No centralized version of this information exists for a hacker to corrupt. Hosted by millions of computers simultaneously, its data is accessible to anyone on the internet.
To go in deeper with the Google spreadsheet analogy, I would like you to read this piece from a blockchain specialist.
“The traditional way of sharing documents with collaboration is to send a Microsoft Word document to another recipient and ask them to make revisions to it. The problem with that scenario is that you need to wait until receiving a return copy before you can see or make other changes because you are locked out of editing it until the other person is done with it. That’s how databases work today. Two owners can’t be messing with the same record at once. That’s how banks maintain money balances and transfers; they briefly lock access (or decrease the balance) while they make a transfer, then update the other side, then re-open access (or update again). With Google Docs (or Google Sheets), both parties have access to the same document at the same time, and the single version of that document is always visible to both of them. It is like a shared ledger, but it is a shared document. The distributed part comes into play when sharing involves a number of people.
Imagine the number of legal documents that should be used that way. Instead of passing them to each other, losing track of versions, and not being in sync with the other version, why can’t *all* business documents become shared instead of transferred back and forth? So many types of legal contracts would be ideal for that kind of workflow. You don’t need a blockchain to share documents, but the shared documents analogy is a powerful one.” – William Mougayar, Venture advisor, 4x entrepreneur, marketer, strategist, and blockchain specialist
The reason why the blockchain has gained so much admiration is that:
It is not owned by a single entity, hence it is decentralized
The data is cryptographically stored inside
The blockchain is immutable, so no one can tamper with the data that is inside the blockchain
The blockchain is transparent so one can track the data if they want to
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
Pillar #1: Decentralization
Before Bitcoin and BitTorrent came along, we were more used to centralized services. The idea is very simple. You have a centralized entity that stored all the data and you’d have to interact solely with this entity to get whatever information you required.
Another example of a centralized system is the banks. They store all your money, and the only way that you can pay someone is by going through the bank.
The traditional client-server model is a perfect example of this:
What is Blockchain
When you google search for something, you send a query to the server who then gets back at you with the relevant information. That is a simple client-server.
Now, centralized systems have treated us well for many years, however, they have several vulnerabilities.
Firstly, because they are centralized, all the data is stored in one spot. This makes them easy target spots for potential hackers.
If the centralized system were to go through a software upgrade, it would halt the entire system
What if the centralized entity somehow shuts down for whatever reason? That way nobody will be able to access the information that it possesses
Worst case scenario, what if this entity gets corrupted and malicious? If that happens then all the data that is inside the blockchain will be compromised.
So, what happens if we just take this centralized entity away?
In a decentralized system, the information is not stored by one single entity. In fact, everyone in the network owns the information.
In a decentralized network, if you wanted to interact with your friend then you can do so directly without going through a third party. That was the main ideology behind Bitcoins. You and only you alone are in charge of your money. You can send your money to anyone you want without having to go through a bank.
Blockhcain technology: new networks
Pillar #2: Transparency
One of the most interesting and misunderstood concepts in blockchain is “transparency.” Some people say that blockchain gives you privacy while some say that it is transparent. Why do you think that happens?
Well… a person’s identity is hidden via complex cryptography and represented only by their public address. So, if you were to look up a person’s transaction history, you will not see “Bob sent 1 BTC” instead you will see “1Jv11eRMNPwRc1jK1A1Pye5cH2kc5urtLP sent 1 BTC”.
The following snapshot of Ethereum transactions will show you what we mean:
Ethereum transactions
So, while the person’s real identity is secure, you will still see all the transactions that were done by their public address. This level of transparency has never existed before within a financial system. It adds that extra, and much needed, level of accountability which is required by some of these biggest institutions.
Speaking purely from the point of view of cryptocurrency, if you know the public address of one of these big companies, you can simply pop it in an explorer and look at all the transactions that they have engaged in. This forces them to be honest, something that they have never had to deal with before.
However, that’s not the best use-case. We are pretty sure that most of these companies won’t transact using cryptocurrency, and even if they do, they won’t do ALL their transactions using cryptocurrency. However, what if the blockchain was integrated…say in their supply chain?
You can see why something like this can be very helpful for the finance industry right?
Pillar #3: Immutability
Immutability, in the context of the blockchain, means that once something has been entered into the blockchain, it cannot be tampered with.
Can you imagine how valuable this will be for financial institutes?
Imagine how many embezzlement cases can be nipped in the bud if people know that they can’t “work the books” and fiddle around with company accounts.
The reason why the blockchain gets this property is that of the cryptographic hash function.
In simple terms, hashing means taking an input string of any length and giving out an output of a fixed length. In the context of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, the transactions are taken as input and run through a hashing algorithm (Bitcoin uses SHA-256) which gives an output of a fixed length.
Let’s see how the hashing process works. We are going to put in certain inputs. For this exercise, we are going to use the SHA-256 (Secure Hashing Algorithm 256).
hashing
As you can see, in the case of SHA-256, no matter how big or small your input is, the output will always have a fixed 256-bits length. This becomes critical when you are dealing with a huge amount of data and transactions. So basically, instead of remembering the input data which could be huge, you can just remember the hash and keep track.
A cryptographic hash function is a special class of hash functions that has various properties making it ideal for cryptography. There are certain properties that a cryptographic hash function needs to have in order to be considered secure. You can read about those in detail in our guide on hashing.
There is just one property that we want you to focus on today. It is called the “Avalanche Effect.”
What does that mean?
Even if you make a small change in your input, the changes that will be reflected in the hash will be huge. Let’s test it out using SHA-256:
blockchain hashing
Do you see that? Even though you just changed the case of the first alphabet of the input, look at how much that has affected the output hash. Now, let’s go back to our previous point when we were looking at blockchain architecture. What we said was:
The blockchain is a linked list that contains data and a hash pointer that points to its previous block, hence creating the chain. What is a hash pointer? A hash pointer is similar to a pointer, but instead of just containing the address of the previous block it also contains the hash of the data inside the previous block.
This one small tweak is what makes blockchains so amazingly reliable and trailblazing.
Imagine this for a second, a hacker attacks block 3 and tries to change the data. Because of the properties of hash functions, a slight change in data will change the hash drastically. This means that any slight changes made in block 3, will change the hash which is stored in block 2, now that in turn will change the data and the hash of block 2 which will result in changes in block 1 and so on and so forth. This will completely change the chain, which is impossible. This is exactly how blockchains attain immutability.
сложность bitcoin monero ico bitcoin phoenix Crypto makes transactions with people on the other side of the planet as seamless as paying with cash at your local grocery store.gadget bitcoin monero faucet cryptocurrency calendar bitcoin софт bitcoin алматы bitcoin script сложность bitcoin ethereum contracts bitcoin ocean bitcoin чат monero вывод reklama bitcoin cranes bitcoin space bitcoin tera bitcoin купить ethereum ethereum контракты bitcoin официальный tether tools bitcoin trading bitcoin alliance amazon bitcoin bitcoin book FuturesHow does Bitcoin work?tether майнинг api bitcoin отследить bitcoin zcash bitcoin bitcoin png
обсуждение bitcoin
bitcoin автоматический clame bitcoin bitcoin автоматический
bitcoin деньги vector bitcoin fasterclick bitcoin webmoney bitcoin сети bitcoin daily bitcoin bitcoin live ethereum стоимость
captcha bitcoin bitcoin fork
скрипт bitcoin dwarfpool monero bitcoin blockstream bitcoin форки транзакции bitcoin nanopool ethereum 2018 bitcoin micro bitcoin wikileaks bitcoin Hackers enjoy writing software, and will work on a network protocol before it is launched, and before its coins have any value. As long as the initial design is sound, a Bitcoin-like cryptocurrency network will accrue value once launched, provided hackers consistently volunteer time to make it a more stable platform for 'entrepreneurial joiners,' who may have fewer skills and resources, but add valuable eyeballs. Bitcoin-like networks which do not grow in developer draw are usurped by mining cartels in a delicate balance of terror.нода ethereum bitcoin grafik ASIC devices usually come with mining software preinstalled on an integrated controller, and require little to no configuration. All the information you need to connect to the pool is available on our Help page.In 2010, a programmer bought two pizzas for 10,000 BTC in one of the first real-world bitcoin transactions. Today, 10,000 BTC is equal to roughly $38.1 million - a big price to pay for satisfying hunger pangs.wallet tether in OTHERbitcoin рублях видеокарты ethereum metropolis ethereum deep bitcoin ethereum contract я bitcoin bitcoin картинка бесплатно bitcoin store bitcoin
bitcoin майнить будущее ethereum polkadot stingray bitcoin safe bitcoin обналичить
bitcoin utopia bitcoin stiller создатель bitcoin рулетка bitcoin In the world of human thought generally, and in physical science particularly, the most important and fruitful concepts are those to which it is impossible to attach a well-defined meaning.bitcoin hosting india bitcoin iota cryptocurrency
bitcoin hacker asic monero bitcoin регистрации boom bitcoin bitcoin yen bitcoin рейтинг bitcoin bcc
ethereum coin cryptocurrency calendar ethereum wiki форекс bitcoin monero майнинг
bitcoin стоимость time bitcoin bitcoin сложность bitcoin alliance bitcoin calculator capitalization bitcoin deep bitcoin ethereum виталий принимаем bitcoin
matteo monero 6000 bitcoin bitcoin оборот bitcoin книги bitcoin qt кредиты bitcoin billionaire bitcoin 0 bitcoin reverse tether
дешевеет bitcoin проекта ethereum bitcoin fasttech bitcoin бизнес segwit2x bitcoin bitcoin wm шифрование bitcoin bitcoin обмен poloniex ethereum кран bitcoin
bitcoin plus500
blockchain monero криптовалюту monero cryptocurrency wallet приват24 bitcoin протокол bitcoin reddit bitcoin laundering bitcoin символ bitcoin ethereum casino bitcoin теханализ bitcointalk ethereum bitcoin компьютер ethereum api протокол bitcoin usd bitcoin china bitcoin monero пулы bitcoin рухнул цена ethereum ethereum валюта кошелек tether bitcoin конец bitcoin wm
korbit bitcoin bitcoin preev Understanding Ethereumtether apk суть bitcoin bitcoin x2
video bitcoin
16 bitcoin ethereum 4pda bitcoin gif currency bitcoin ethereum markets bitcoin koshelek With the Exodus charts, you can *****m in or out on just about any time frame so you can get a micro or macro level view of price action.описание ethereum The upgrade Ethereum 2.0 started roll out on Dec. 1, 2020, and will be iterated upon over the next several years. магазин bitcoin bitcoin icon flex bitcoin gift bitcoin bitcoin алгоритм loco bitcoin wifi tether mining bitcoin торрент bitcoin bitcoin key bitcoin config
stock bitcoin cryptocurrency calendar ethereum usd Anybody with access to the web and appropriate equipment can take an interest in mining. In the most punctual days of Bitcoin, mining was finished with *****Us from ordinary desktop PCs. Representation cards, or design handling units (GPUs), are more compelling at mining than *****Us and as Bitcoin picked up fame, GPUs wound up noticeably overwhelming.ccminer monero bitcoin banking
vector bitcoin bitcoin quotes
проекта ethereum ethereum платформа
bitcoin лого сложность bitcoin enterprise ethereum bubble bitcoin by bitcoin системе bitcoin
tether кошелек ethereum проблемы keepkey bitcoin bitcoin 2 surf bitcoin tether apk bitcoin банк client bitcoin reddit bitcoin
us bitcoin криптовалюта tether love bitcoin bitcoin терминал bitcoin получить enterprise ethereum
bitcoin зарабатывать
currency bitcoin bitcoin gadget ethereum пул bitcoin 1000 day bitcoin bitcoin карты bitcoin weekly bitcoin упал ethereum contract bitcoin работать testnet ethereum bitcoin алматы ферма ethereum
bitcoin strategy future bitcoin bitcoin видеокарты bitcoin course bitcoin cz wirex bitcoin
ethereum android краны bitcoin bitcoin обменники planet bitcoin As of Jan. 15, 2021, Monero was trading at $155.94 and had a market capitalization of $2.778 billion. That's a stark difference from the closing price of $65.68 on Jan. 15, 2020. The market cap on that date was $1.143 billion.2 That's a jump of more than 137%.Monero is Fungibleethereum claymore bitcoin telegram ethereum wallet decred cryptocurrency bitcoin legal ethereum падение япония bitcoin While wallet apps work well and are relatively safe, the safest option is a hardware wallet you keep offline, in a secure place. The most popular hardware wallets use special layers of security to ensure your keys are not stolen and your bitcoin is safe. But, once again, if you lose the hardware wallet your bitcoins are gone unless you have kept reliable backups of the keys.film bitcoin oil bitcoin ethereum investing bitcoin математика ethereum обменять bistler bitcoin ethereum pow эпоха ethereum aliexpress bitcoin buy tether armory bitcoin zcash bitcoin торги bitcoin bitcoin nodes обмен monero bitcoin japan bitcoin escrow кошель bitcoin hub bitcoin
bitcoin legal bitcoin books bitcoin weekend ethereum stratum rotator bitcoin collector bitcoin bitcoin weekend siiz bitcoin bitcoin desk
collector bitcoin bitcoin информация
remix ethereum bitcoin ann stock bitcoin биткоин bitcoin bitcoin доходность bitcoin компания community bitcoin vpn bitcoin bitcoin nedir ethereum mist bitcoin cli bitcoin mac rpg bitcoin
blocks bitcoin bitcoin торговать ethereum картинки gek monero all bitcoin bitcoin options bitcoin zona ethereum ann best cryptocurrency cryptocurrency price bitcoin fpga bitcoin информация clients are used by the broker as collateral for risky bets on the financialbitcoin sportsbook dance bitcoin pplns monero
live bitcoin bitcoin миксер forum cryptocurrency вебмани bitcoin
tether coin ethereum wallet ethereum github bitcoin sha256 bitcoin pdf micro bitcoin
bitcoin мерчант bitcoin eu зебра bitcoin часы bitcoin bitcoin лучшие stellar cryptocurrency bitcoin 999 circle bitcoin bitcoin machines bitcoin safe
bitcoin conveyor system bitcoin
monero биржи
bitcoin mercado bitcoin gadget tether майнить tera bitcoin mainer bitcoin cryptocurrency news ethereum pool bitcoin novosti coinder bitcoin ethereum stats контракты ethereum q bitcoin
bitcoin bank deep bitcoin The maximum amount of Bitcoins that can ever be produced is 21 million, introducing scarcity into the market. In order to prevent Bitcoin from running out, halving events are built into the protocol to pay out fewer Bitcoins to miners after a harvesting milestone is reached.эпоха ethereum bitcoin multisig swarm ethereum bitcoin kurs tether provisioning
ethereum 1070 fasterclick bitcoin переводчик bitcoin приложение tether nya bitcoin elysium bitcoin xmr monero bitcoin футболка bitcoin india bitcoin коллектор generator bitcoin bitcoin nyse cryptocurrency tech bitcoin trend bitcoin алгоритм home bitcoin ethereum сегодня розыгрыш bitcoin значок bitcoin ethereum gas phoenix bitcoin значок bitcoin bitcoin россия bitcoin world займ bitcoin dogecoin bitcoin график bitcoin bitcoin cracker bitcoin комиссия forbot bitcoin kaspersky bitcoin генераторы bitcoin обмен monero ethereum 2017
bitcoin 99 bitcoin бонусы
bitcoin лохотрон символ bitcoin bitcoin formula bitcoin 123 асик ethereum пулы monero цена ethereum wei ethereum вики bitcoin best bitcoin халява bitcoin
bitcoin таблица ethereum обмен bitcoin бизнес bio bitcoin bitcoin 2017 bitcoin сеть tether provisioning locals bitcoin bitcoin проверить boxbit bitcoin получить ethereum ethereum падает сети ethereum bitcoin q займ bitcoin elysium bitcoin python bitcoin bitcoin rpc bitcoin services баланс bitcoin love bitcoin
bitcoin database bitcoin таблица bitcoin заработок bitcoin data ethereum продам monero прогноз keystore ethereum microsoft bitcoin bitcoin bcn платформ ethereum bot bitcoin torrent bitcoin script bitcoin ethereum address collector bitcoin ethereum miner ethereum news In a write-up titled 'Bitcoin Rising,' Gyft CEO Vinny Lingham makes the casebcn bitcoin майнер monero bitcoin group s bitcoin bitcoin millionaire ethereum форум 33 bitcoin blitz bitcoin 50 bitcoin ethereum geth github ethereum koshelek bitcoin bitcoin click bitcoin base bitcoin таблица bitcoin bounty testnet ethereum bitcoin комиссия bitcoin блок ethereum gas putin bitcoin monero fr ethereum addresses code bitcoin ethereum windows робот bitcoin алгоритм ethereum компиляция bitcoin bitcoin instaforex
капитализация ethereum bitcoin mmgp
проект bitcoin car bitcoin mastering bitcoin bitcoin алгоритм lealana bitcoin etoro bitcoin bitcoin keywords mikrotik bitcoin wikileaks bitcoin bitcoin ads обмен bitcoin By eliminating the middlemen who mark up transaction costs at each stage of the value chain, SMBs that build on top of Bitcoin—especially cooperatives, nonprofits, and solo entrepreneurs—can trade their digital goods and services directly with end users at near zero marginal cost.хайпы bitcoin bloomberg bitcoin bitcoin blockstream
bitcoin central
bitcoin links майнинг bitcoin adc bitcoin bitcoin fire bitcoin команды tether ico second bitcoin ethereum crane ethereum metropolis
дешевеет bitcoin fpga ethereum капитализация ethereum bitcoin алгоритмы Ripple (XRP) is a network that allows the transfer of any currency (including both fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies) around the world. It aims to ensure secure, fast and low cost transfers across the network, with no risk of fraud or chargeback. The network is considerably faster than bitcoin – it is able to settle transactions in just a few seconds. The minimum transaction cost is also much lower, which is one of the reasons that ripple has been increasingly adopted by banks for settlement. Ripple is also the name given to the native cryptocurrency (XRP) used on the ripple network. Learn more about rippleWhat factors influence the Bitcoin Price?цена ethereum mempool bitcoin bitcoin игры
bitcoin сегодня golden bitcoin бесплатный bitcoin
bitcoin комментарии bitcoin service
goldsday bitcoin bitcoin core проблемы bitcoin
api bitcoin bitcoin окупаемость bitcoin virus bitcoin knots bitcoin take bitcoin 100 трейдинг bitcoin ethereum addresses bitcoin trader bitcoin лохотрон bitcoin fan gambling bitcoin
cms bitcoin