What Is Blockchain?

Without blockchain, there would be no cryptocurrencies.

Decentralised blockchains makes it possible for the people of the world to take greater control over their finances, whether it is the many unbanked people globally or those who are looking to cryptocurrencies as a means of building and or preserving their wealth.

So, What Is Blockchain?

It is a method of using cryptographic systems to link together blocks of digital records that are stored on a large group of computers. Each of these computers contains a complete record of all transactions ever made. As there is no governing authority controlling the blockchain network, it is effectively a decentralised system.

From a digital perspective, blockchain is simply a chain of programmable blocks, with each block listing transaction details such as dates, times amounts and actions involved. All blocks together are referred to as a chain that functions as a publicly accessible database. Because it is cryptographically engineered, makes it near impossible to commit fraud, such as records being altered or forged etc.,

Each new transaction on the blockchain has to go through what is called an in-depth mathematical verification process to prevent any party from record tampering so, in effect, that party would have to alter every occurrence of that record on every computer in the world that is participating in that network.

Trust in the blockchain is maintained by keeping transparent public records, which is key to building and sustaining that level of faith in the blockchain system. Additionally, there are a number of other important functions performed by the blockchain, such as Smart Contracts.

Four Central Blockchains

The vast majority of crypto tokens will live on one of four central blockchains as follows:

• Ethereum Blockchain: is an advanced technology that also includes Smart Contracts to enable a wide range of technological innovations. It is where developers can use the Ethereum platform to build a variety of creations. This blockchain underpins most of the tradable crypto tokens and especially the ERC-20 standard, which is what enables the creation of most tokens.

• Neo Blockchain: is the Chinese version of Ethereum, with DApps and Smart Contracts. Neo supports its own cryptocurrency and enables the development of digital assets as w In comparison to Ethereum, estimates suggest that NEO can handle approx. 10,000 transactions per second, whereas Ethereum currently supports about 15 per second. As you can see, there is a very large gap in the transaction speed, which is important because, at a time when both Bitcoin and Ethereum are seriously struggling to increase their speed, NEO appears to be leading the way in this aspect.

• Tron Blockchain: is a decentralised platform with numerous DApps, using peer-to-peer technology. It is an entertainment and content sharing platform, similar to a next-generation social media platform. It enables both the creating and sharing of digital content worldwide.

• Omni: is a 'layer' built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain, - which is considered the first, most popular, most audited and the most secure of all. It is a digital cryptocurrency and communications protocol, being one of several efforts to enable complex financial functions in a cryptocurrency.

What Is A Block Explorer?

In much the same way you would use a search engine such as Google to locate information, a block explorer is an equivalent. It is a blockchain search engine that provides information about all transactions carried out on the blockchain. For instance, when you buy cryptocurrencies and transfer them from an exchange to a wallet, the blockchain records and keeps the data of those transactions.

Ethereum Block Explorer

The same is true of all Ethereum-associated crypto transactions on the Ethereum network. For this network, you would use Etherscan to track and follow the progress of a transaction. Etherscan is a free service that provides details of all transactions made on the Ethereum blockchain.