Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (2/2)

In this second article we will learn about blockchain the building block of any Cryptocurrency.

What is blockchain.

Blockchain was first introduced to the world by Satoshi Nakamoto in is white paper named Bitcoin: a peer-to-peer cash system. He explained blockchain as an solution to the double spent attack and to the Byzantine general problem two challenges that were making the creation of a digital currency difficult. He described it is a distributed, cryptographically secure, decentralized and immutable ledger. In more simple terme blockchain act as a balance sheet that record every transaction that ever occur between the people in the network no one can erase past transaction, every one as the same copy of the balance sheet and everyone as the same amount of power over the balance sheet.

Block, consensus and mining.

Blockchain is composed of Block and each of those block are cryptographically linked together with the help of some cryptographic method for exemple hash function. We make a Block by putting many transaction together so technically a Block is just a cluster of transaction.

But why do we put transaction into block? Because recording every transaction separately will use to much memory and to much computing power.

After creating a block we need to add this new block into the blockchain ne before each node in the network has to agree on witch specific block to add into the blockchain to help them decided blockchain use an consensus algorithm for exemple Bitcoin use the consensus algorithm named proof-of-work witch consiste of computer competing each other to solve an cryptographic puzzle.

The action of putting new block into the blockchain is called mining and the people that does it are called miner.

So we can say that miner but the block in blockchain.

TL;DR

Here a some takeaway to keep so you can impress you work colleague in a conversation about blockchain.

• Blockchain is decentralised no one as power over it
• Blockchain is use cryptographic function to keep it secure
• Blockchain is distributed which mean that everyone on the network as a copy of it
• Blockchain is immutable in other word no one can change past transaction or past information that is on the blockchain you can only add new one.
• Mining consist of adding new block to the blockchain.
• Blockchain act the same way as an database.