Blockchain Technology !
Table of contents
Starting with "What does the word Blockchain consists of! ". Primarily, blockchain is a blend of two words “block” which means a “unit” and “chain” which means combination. So, blockchain is defined as a combination of several units through which transactions of cryptocurrency are processed across the world.
Introduction:
Normally, in banks, the database is centralized by the bank administration and hence any executive of administration has access to the information of their customers and this could be used for awful purposes, while in the case of cryptocurrency, blockchain is the solution to those problems. Blockchain is a type of database that is decentralized and no individual has control over it because of which alteration of data is next to impossible in the presence of blockchain. If we go back to the history of blockchain, then its research was started in the early ’90s while implementation of the same was done in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, who made bitcoin through blockchain technology. Since then, the era of cryptocurrency began.
In simple terms, Blockchain is the ledger (record book) of any shop. A single block is similar to a record entry in the ledger.
Blockchain = Image of Ledger
Now, you must be wondering what this block is all about. OR what are the components of the block?
A block has three sub-components:
Data: Here data states as “Relevant information” which refers to the information of every transaction of cryptocurrency such as the amount of money transferred through cryptocurrency, the information of sender and receiver, and so on.
Hash: There is a unique code generated for each block which is identified as “Hash”. Just as our Aadhar number stands for our identity, Hash stands for the identity of that particular block.
Prev Hash: So as the name suggests, it is the hash of the previous block, which is stored in the current block. So, in the current block, its hash and the hash of its preceding block are stored. With the help of this functionality, a chain of blocks is formed.
However, there might arise a question that if such is the case, then what does the “Prev hash” of the first block contains?? The answer to this question is that it does not contain any Prev hash and for its unique feature, it is named “Genesis Block”. Therefore, the very first block of the blockchain is known as the Genesis block.
Using this system, one can keep a record of every transaction taking place, one can track the history of any block, and most importantly cannot tamper the data stored in a block. Because multiple layers of security are implemented in blockchain to make it a complete full-proof process. For an instance, if somebody tries to alter the data of a block, then its unique code i.e., hash changes, consequently the Prev hash of the succeeding block also changes and ultimately the alteration can be tracked easily. Moreover, as we know that the database is operated by a community of people who are part of a peer-to-peer network, so any changes in the data of a block require the agreement of a majority of the people, or else the change is rejected. This type of voting system is used for an amendment to be implemented which is known as the “Consensus Rule”. Although, the changing hash is quite a tedious task as in a bitcoin changing the hash in a single block requires 10 mins and there are crores of such blocks in bitcoin.
UseCase of Blockchain:
Jumping to the point that how to use blockchain for our business, start-ups or any other purposes. For this, first of all, we need to access the “Smart Contract” which is just like an agreement to the terms and conditions of blockchain. For actually using it, there are two ways:
One could start from scratch and can implement blockchain through a particular programming language for their purpose.
There are several blockchains available in the market which could be used by adding our code to them, and then all the transactions occurring will be implemented through that filtered blockchain.
Let us take an example of a very well-known crypto coin “Ethereum”.
The language required to implement Ethereum blockchain is known as “Solidity”. Hence, if an individual wishes to use Ethereum blockchain for his/her own purpose then he/she must know solidity language, so that he/she can modify the code and can use the blockchain for his/her own purpose.
At the end, we concluded that cryptocurrency has a very fine forged shield that protects and gives a very dedicated level of security to data through blockchain technology.