A blockchain is a digitized, decentralized and globally distributed public ledger of transactions that is constantly growing as completed blocks (the most recent transactions) are recorded and added to it in chronological order. The Harvard Business Review has described it as “an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way.” A blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of subsequent blocks, which requires collusion of all of the other blocks in a chain. All of this happens in an open and transparent environment.
The first blockchain was conceptualized in 2008 by an anonymous person or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto and implemented in 2009 as the core component of the technology underlying bitcoin, where it now serves as the public ledger for almost all cryptocurrency transactions.
Blockchain’s cryptocurrency applications are only the tip of the iceberg of its potential applications. Some observers believe that the widespread adoption of the blockchain technology could potentially be more disruptive than the introduction of the Internet. Some blockchain boosters say that the development of blockchain rivals, in significance, the introduction of double-entry bookkeeping in Renaissance Italy. Blockchain in this context is triple-entry bookkeeping where the third entry is a verifiable cryptographic receipt of every transaction.
Many businesses, from energy to healthcare to food are already exploring and implementing blockchains in an effort to trim costs\ and secure and share information more efficiently. They do so knowing that there very survival may be at stake.
Corporations and individuals can create private “permissioned” blockchains which use an access control layer to govern who has access to the network. In contract to public blockchain networks, the users on private networks are vetted by the network owner.
This board has been created to discuss the underlying technology of blockchain, the potential and actual usage of the technology and, most importantly, the investment opportunities surrounding blockchain. Inevitably, these will include the cryptocurrencies and some casino stock plays that will flare out and crash.
"Software is eating the world" - Marc Andreessen
External resources
Cryptocurrency market caps: coinmarketcap.com
Estimated cost of Gas transactions: 28-22 Gwei | GAS NOW - ETH Gas Price forecast system
Satoshi Nakamoto whitepaper (Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System): bitcoin.org
Vitalik Buterin whitepaper (A Next Generation Smart Contract & Decentralized Application Platform): the-blockchain.com
Decrypt: Your guide to Bitcoin, Ethereum & Web 3.0 - Decrypt
Coindesk: coindesk.com
Cointelegraph: cointelegraph.com
The Block: The Block - The first and final word in digital assets (theblockcrypto.com)
Related SI boards
Bitcoin: Subject 59173
GBTC: Bitcoin Investment Trust (not an ETF): Subject 59732
Coinbase Global: Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN) | Stock Discussion Forums (siliconinvestor.com)
Riot Blockchain: Riot Blockchain, Inc. (RIOT) | Stock Discussion Forums (siliconinvestor.com)
IOTA (which does not use a traditional blockchain technology): Subject 59917
Binance (BNB): Subject 59928
Wagerr (WGR): Subject 59927
Fintech: Subject 59550
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