You will see the phrase ‘blockchain technology,’ or commonly just ‘blockchain,’ in many different contexts, and it can be confusing because different people use the words to mean different things. Purists will have a different understanding of the word from generalists. Angela Walch, Research Fellow at University College London—Centre for Blockchain Technologies, provides some excellent
Terminology is evolving quickly. While bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies are all referred to as ‘digital tokens’ in a generic sense (as in ‘a Bitcoin is a digital token’), a distinction now seems to be emerging between cryptocurrencies, such as BTC and ETH whose coins are tracked on their respective blockchains, and tokens which are usually
Which One is Right for Your Business? Public blockchains, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, offer a high degree of decentralization, security, and transparency, while private blockchains, such as Hyperledger Fabric and Corda, prioritize privacy, control, and scalability. By knowing the pros and cons of each type, you can discover the benefits of blockchain technology and
Ethereum’s vision is to develop an unstoppable, decentralized “world computer” that is self-sustaining, resistant to censorship, and capable of processing data and logic in a distributed, trustless manner. Building upon the principles established by Bitcoin, Ethereum expands upon the concepts of trustless validation and distributed storage to include the processing of data and logic. Essentially,
Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency, was created by an unknown person or group of people using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains a mystery to this day, and there have been many attempts to uncover their true identity. Here are 10 facts you need to know about the enigmatic creator of
Bitcoin’s price: like gold or oil or any other asset, bitcoins have a value that can be priced in USD or any other currency. This means there are people who are willing to exchange BTC with USD, usually using cryptocurrency exchanges, marketplaces which attract buyers and sellers. On exchanges you can see indications of supply
Bitcoin’s History is colourful, more colourful than some received wisdom might have it. Some Bitcoin proponents say ‘Bitcoin (the protocol) has never been hacked,’ but they are wrong. Bitcoin has been hacked. Here is a selection of events from historyofBitcoin.org120 and the Bitcoin Wiki121 with my personal comments about these events. The Genesis of Bitcoin:
Bitcoin predecessors played a crucial role in its creation, as most innovative inventions are not developed in isolation. Bitcoin’s inventors drew inspiration from previous experiences and combined various proven concepts in an unprecedented way to create new characteristics for decentralized digital cash. Here are some technologies and ideas that may have directly or indirectly influenced
Bitcoin in Practice: Despite the ideal concept of Bitcoin decentralization, the reality is that it may not be as decentralized as some proponents may claim. In practice, there are various metrics that indicate Bitcoin’s performance falls short of expectations. While the network operates on a peer-to-peer basis and does not require a central authority to
The Bitcoin blockchain is managed by software running on computers that communicate with each other forming a network. Although multiple compatible software implementations exist, the most used software is called ‘Bitcoin Core’ and source code to this software is published on GitHub. The Bitcoin blockchain is a decentralized, public ledger that records all Bitcoin transactions.