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March 24, 2018, 03:46:31 PM |
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Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger or decentralized database that keeps records of digital
transactions. Rather than having a central administrator like a traditional database, a distributed
ledger has a network of replicated databases, synchronized via the Internet and visible to anyone
within the network. Blockchain networks can be private with restricted membership similar to
an intranet, or public, like the Internet, accessible to any person in the world. When a digital
transaction is carried out, it is grouped together in a cryptographically protected block with other
transactions that have occurred in the last period and sent out to the entire network. Miners
(members in the network with high levels of computing power) then compete to validate the
transactions by solving complex coded problems. The first miner to solve the problems and
validate the block receives a reward. The validated block of transactions is then time stamped
and added to a chain in a linear, chronological order. New blocks of validated transactions are
linked to older blocks, making a chain of blocks that show every transaction made in the history
of that blockchain. The entire chain is continually updated so that every ledger in the network is
the same, giving each member the ability to prove who owns what at any given time.” (How does
the Blockchain Work.
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