What the Fork is a Blockchain?
Blockchain Fork: A condition where a blockchain splits off into multiple chains that operate under separate rules.
Perhaps some of the most personal data we store online nowadays is our financial information. Efforts are constantly being made to make using and storing digital currency as secure as possible and among those efforts, is the concept of a blockchain network.
If you ask an expert what a blockchain is, they might tell you that it’s a “decentralized public ledger using a peer-to-peer topology”. But what exactly does this mean?
Decentralized
A blockchain is essentially database or server with some special characteristics. When we say a blockchain is “decentralized”, what we mean is that anyone can append (add) information to it, as long as it follows the rules. Centralized systems today like banks and companies are middle men, they verify the credibility of the information on their networks. In a blockchain network though, every computer in the system verifies the credibility of the transaction, and if more than 50% of them agree, the block is added to the chain. Think of the current model sort of like a bouncer at a bar; one entity who decides who comes in as they come. A blockchain would be as if every member from within the bar would all collectively voice whether they think someone should be let in or not, and if more than half of them agree that they should, they’re allowed in.
Public Ledger
A ledger in accounting is a collection of accounts and other financial information. As finance has migrated toward the digital world, ledgers have shifted from books and folders, to secure servers and databases. A bank is an example of a private ledger, they might have servers containing personal information and transaction data, and only they have access to that information. In a blockchain network, although specific user information is pseudo-anonymous everyone has access to read/write to it. In fact, you can view the real-time additions to the Bitcoin blockchain by clicking here.
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Topology
In networking, a topology is a system of links and nodes that describe communication on a network. Nodes can be used to represent computers, servers, routers/switches, cloud platforms, and pretty much any device you could think of that would need to be represented in a network. There are many kinds network topologies, including Mesh, Star, Bus, Ring, and Hybrid.
Blockchain, on the other hand uses a series of Peer-to-Peer, or Point-to-Point connections combined to form a Mesh Topology, as visualized below. This is what is makes blockchain decentralized; there is no entity in the middle regulating the network, each connected device validates every other connected device.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen decentralization; perhaps one of the most well-known examples was the invention of the printing press. Being able to write and print a text used to be reserved exclusively for religious institutions, but after the invention of the printing press, the power to create typed documents shifted until it eventually landed in the hands of the common man.
“Once we wrapped the globe in endless circles of wires crossing the deserts and beneath the oceans, decentralization was not only possible, but inevitable. ~Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of Wired magazine
Decentralization was not only possible, but inevitable. Today, Blockchain technology is used primarily for secure cryptocurrency transactions, which is almost synonymous with Bitcoin nowadays, an online cryptocurrency stored in a digital wallet that uses Blockchain. Eventually, I’d like to see Blockchain being used in the transfer of data, where there is no need for ISPs or servers or databases to mitigate potential cyber attacks, because each machine on the network would be validating the authenticity of the information on the network.
A decentralized network on a large enough scale could prevent major corporations from harvesting user data, securing the privacy of each and every individual that uses it in a way we’ve never seen before! Centralized institutions have done the best they could to fight against cyber attacks to protect your information, but as cyber attacks get more and more sophisticated, there will come a time when even those efforts won’t be enough, and when that time comes, our best chance at keeping our digital lives safe, lies in Blockchain Technology.
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