Elijah Ndung'u
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a technology that enables the secure sharing of information. Data, obviously, is stored in a database. Transactions are recorded in an account book called a ledger. A blockchain is a type of distributeddatabase or ledger—one of today’s —which means the power to update a blockchain is distributed between the nodes, or participants, of a public or private computer network. This is known as distributed ledger technology, or DLT. Nodes are incentivized with digital tokens or currency to make updates to blockchains.
Blockchain allows for the permanent, immutable, and transparent recording of data and transactions. This, in turn, makes it possible to exchange anything that has value, whether that is a physical item or something less tangible.
A blockchain has three major central attributes. First, a blockchain database must be cryptographically secure. That means in order to access or add data on the database, you need two cryptographic keys: a public key, which is basically the address in the database, and the private key, which is a personal key that must be authenticated by the network.
Next, a blockchain is a digital log or database of transactions, meaning it happens fully online. And finally, a blockchain is a database that is shared across a public or private network. One of the most well-known public blockchain networks is the Bitcoin blockchain . Anyone can open a Bitcoin wallet or become a node on the network. Other blockchains may be private networks. These are more applicable to banking and fintech, where people need to know exactly who is participating, who has access to data, and who has a private key to the database. Other types of blockchains include consortium blockchains and hybrid blockchains, both of which combine different aspects of public and private blockchains.