The meteoric rise in the value of bitcoins has put a spotlight on the blockchain, which is the primary public, digital ledger for bitcoin transactions. A blockchain allows digital transactions to be transparent and distributed, but not copied. It is thought to be the brainchild of an anonymous person or group operating under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
The bitcoin network has attracted attention from almost all industries and experts due to its variable market value. These captains of industry and the experts are trying to figure out how this technology can be adapted to and integrated with their work. The dictionary definition of blockchain is, “A digital ledger in which transactions made in bitcoin or another cryptocurrency are recorded chronologically and publicly.” This definition is derived from the most popular implementation of blockchain technology— the bitcoin. But blockchain is actually not bitcoin. Let’s have a look at blockchain technology, in general.
Distributed ledger technology (DLT)
Distributed ledger technology includes blockchain technologies and smart contracts. While DLT existed prior to bitcoin or blockchain, it marks the convergence of a host of technologies, including the time-stamping of transactions, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, cryptography, shared computational power, as well as a new consensus algorithm. In short, distributed ledger technology is generally made up of three basic components:
- A data model that captures the current state of the ledger.
- A language of transactions that changes the ledger state.
- A protocol used to build consensus among participants around which transactions will be accepted by the ledger and in what order.
What is blockchain technology?
This story is from the May 2018 edition of Open Source For You.
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This story is from the May 2018 edition of Open Source For You.
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