Blockchain and its Future

3 min readJun 27, 2021

The blockchain hype is huge. To hear the hype about blockchain, now will see about it:

Solve income inequality
Keep all data safe forever
Make everything more efficient and reliable
Save dying babies

What the heck is a blockchain, anyway? And can it really do all these things? Can blockchain bring something amazing to industries as diverse as health care, finance, supply chain management and music rights?

And doesn’t being for Bitcoin mean that you’re pro-blockchain? How can you be for Bitcoin but say anything bad about the technology behind it?

In this article, I seek to answer a lot of these questions by looking at what a blockchain is and more importantly, what it’s not.

What is a blockchain?

Blockchain is a database used on computer networks. Once an entry is added to the chain, it is difficult to change it. To ensure that all copies of the database are the same, the network constantly checks. It was used to support online currencies such as Bitcoin, but many other uses are emerging.

This is how the process works behind blockchain

THE RECORD — Can be any information, a deal for example
THE BLOCK — A bundle of records
THE CHAIN — All the blocks linked together

Here’s how a deal gets included in a blockchain:

Step One

A trade is recorded. For example, let’s say Mr. Pink is selling two of his coins to Mr. Green for $100. The record lists the details, including a digital signature from each party.

Step Two

The record is checked by the network. The computers in the network, called ‘nodes’, check the details of the trade to make sure it is valid.

Step Three

The block is added to the blockchain. The hash codes connect the blocks together in a specific order.

Step Four

The changed hash breaks the chain

ORIGINAL HASH:

a948904f2f0f479b8f8197694b30184b0d2ed1c1cd2a1ec0fb85d299a197

NEW HASH:

40115cc2aecc43ea86a7e54be6f7257abff7b43959cd728f06c0c7423039r

The next block in the chain still has the old hash, so to restore the chain a hacker would have to recalculate that. And the next, and so on. Recalculating all those hashes would take an enormous amount of computing power.

Possible uses

There are some promising uses are under development. Future can even look secure than ever before.

CRYPTOCURRENCY
BANKING
SUPPLY CHAIN
HEALTHCARE
VOTING
PROPERTY RECORDS

Conclusion

Blockchain is currently an extremely widely used technology. Although blockchain is known for its connection to the growing world of cryptocurrencies, several other uses have been explored. Perhaps the new path is more exciting. Whether you are directly involved in the digital currency field or not, it is very important to understand the blockchain and how to use it to change the world of business and technology investment.