Blockchain

Blockchain is a distributed database that records digital events in such a way that it is, for all intents and purposes, impossible to alter those records.

Records can be amended, but the original remains.

The blockchain consists of blocks of items — each block is a timestamped batch of valid individual transactions and the hash of the previous block, creating a link between the two. Because each timestamp includes the previous timestamp in its hash, it forms a chain. Each new transaction must be authenticated across the distributed network of computers that form the blockchain before it can form the next block in the chain.

Given this, the application of blockchain can be many: blockchain can transparently track the provenance of goods as they are passed from one organization to the next, building awareness and trust.

Blockchain is thus a distributed shared operating system where all parties involved in an exchange have open access to an unchangeable digital record of transactions. Each participant always has an exact copy of the transactions and therefore all parties can confidently rely on this data.

In theory, the blockchain guarantees accountability and transparency while streamlining business processes.