The blockchain #crypto #cryptocurrency #bitcoin

#crypto #cryptocurrency #bitcoin
Blockchain
Blockchain, a disruptive technology
The functioning of Bitcoin is based on the blockchain. Blockchain can be compared to a digitized account book in which all transactions are listed. The information is written in chronologically ordered blocks of transactions, that is to say the chain of blocks, each block being linked by its identifier to the previous block.

A blockchain is a category of "distributed ledger", to refer to the fact that copies of the ledger are available in each of the network nodes. No data recorded on the blockchain can be modified or deleted.

Since the creation of bitcoin, different types of blockchains have developed.

These blockchains are distinguished by their degree of network openness, the size of the blocks added, the nature and transparency of the information disseminated, the methods used to reach a consensus and validate transactions, the modes of consulting the register and governance methods to update the protocol.

The applications of blockchain are numerous.

In finance, blockchain technology can be used:
• to carry out cryptocurrency exchanges
• or exchanges of financial securities,
• or to register voting rights associated with shares,
• or to raise funds through an ICO (an ICO being an initial coin offering)
• to name only these use cases.

Other uses outside the financial system are possible, such as for the archiving of land registers, the recording of notarial acts or the storage of private data relating to health.

Finally, blockchain technology allows the creation of smart contracts.

A smart contract is an autonomous program, coded on the blockchain, which automatically executes all or part of a contract without human intervention. As soon as a pre-programmed condition of the smart contract is verified, the corresponding contractual clause is automatically realized.