Blockchain for dummies: why everyone says it is "the next big thing" (infographic)

Blockchain or blockchain is the system on which the Bitcoin virtual currency sits, created by the mysterious Japanese Satoshi Nakamoto at the dawn of the economic crisis and which is not backed by any government or issued by any central bank.In essence, Blockchain is a great virtual accounting book that is built by blocks that then join .It is the accounting (agile, cheap and decentralized) of the Bitcoin world.The particularity is that this book is replicated on all nodes or computers that support the Bitcoin system.

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How does it work?

Each block closes with the transactions that have been made in a span of approximately 10 minutes.That piece of information ends with a last line that contains a very long number that comes out of a very complex mathematical operation.It is the famous "test of work ".

In this way, the system shields itself against hackers and people with bad intentions, because it takes a lot of time and money to find the solution to these problems.Meanwhile, the first line is reserved for an alphanumeric chain that is the fingerprint of the previous block and serves to crimp both.Currently, the chain of records in blocks that supports Bitcoin occupies more than 100 GB, more than double than a year ago.There are also between 4,500 and 5,000 nodes or Bitcoin computers that they are active all the time.

Blockchain for dummies: why everyone says it is

Is it safe?

The operations that are registered, in fact transfers made in Bitcoins, have no return back.Once they are added, they can no longer be deleted.In addition, it is very difficult to make changes, since the information is replicated in all the nodes , and varying it in any of them would be terribly suspicious.If necessary, changes could be made, but with the consensus of most nodes.The distributed nature of Blockchain protects the information that appears in the blocks against hackers, who would have to convince all the nodes to get their way.That is, when distributed, it becomes a system very resistant to attacks, failures or fakes .It is necessary to clarify that Blockchain does not disclose information about the type of transaction or the parties involved in it.

Blockchain for dummies: why everyone says it is

Why have you raised so many expectations?

Some say that Blockchain will be a revolution at the height of those that led to the appearance of the first PC, in the early eighties, or the Internet, a decade later.You may wonder why that optimism.

Blockchain means the arrival of the collaborative, cheap and decentralized economy in the financial world , which has always resorted to heavy central structures, that is, a true peer-to-peer system, such as those that they changed the music business model forever in the 90s, but applied to payments.

Although the distributed nature of Blockchain makes it a very secure system for any type of transaction, its weak point, however, remains the lack of regulation, and global banks and global financial institutions now manage to open up.to this new reality.

What uses will it have in the future?

In any case, it seems that it has a promising future.And now, Blockchain is used to consign Bitcoins transfers, but in the future it could be extended to exchanges of local currencies, shares of companies or real estate.Banks such as BBVA, which has invested in the Bitcoin Coinbase platform, or Bankinter, which has done the same in Coinffeine, already show a clear interest.

So do Internet service or cloud storage firms or patent registration entities .It could even be very useful for electronic voting.Blockchain would allow a voting system where the identities of voters were protected and impossible to falsify, and all at a practically null cost.It would also be a good system for administrations public will reflect your expenses .It would be the materialization of the famous "transparent government".And, of course, electronic commerce as we know it today could also have its revolution.One of the pioneers is OpenBazaar.org, a decentralized blockchain-based market that opened its doors almost a year ago and allows anyone to exchange goods and services by paying with virtual currency.

Attentive, then, to a term that we will hear a lot from here on out, and that will hold its own world congress next October in Barcelona.

Blockchain for dummies: why everyone says it is

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