Blockchain, a Decentralized Network
Blockchain was purposely designed as a decentralized technology so it could use a global network of computers to manage the database that stores Bitcoin transactions. This is the same as saying that it operates as a P2P (peer-to-peer) network, but every peer (the same as user or node) is also an administrator of the blockchain.
Unlike traditional P2P sharing files tools that we know, each node is "mining", or competing to win Bitcoins by solving computational puzzles. That was the main goal of the creation of blockchain, that is now being recognized as only one of the many applications that this technology may have.
The fact that it is decentralized also brings some other advantages. By being distributed among several nodes, it ensures that data will not be controlled by just a single entity and it makes this data fail-proof. This distribution of data validates itself transparently, like a living self-auditing system.
Another great feature of the distributed information is that it would take such an amount of computational power to override the whole network that it is really unlikely to happen. Not only that, but is has a much higher security than the already deprecated user/password system. It relies in cryptography based in a key pair, one public and the other private. The public key is the address of the user in the blockchain and the private key is the password to access that information.
Just like the more than 700 Bitcoin-like cryptocurrencies that are there today, many other potential adaptations of the original blockchain concept are currently active, or in development. And one of these adaptations could be what it is lacking to be adopted as a worldwide standard and become a new layer of functionality of the internet.
Nobiletec is a multi-national consultancy firm specializes in B2B, B2C and P2P FinTech solutions.
