So What is Blockchain?
Blockchain is essentially a decentralized ledger, or record of data. For this to happen, information is spread across a network to lessen the chance of there being a single fail point. The benefit of this system is that information cannot be removed, lost, or stolen, and all changes are tracked and must be approved by consensus across the network. This is possible because all data blocks on the ledger are cryptographically processed and turned into a kind of data-puzzle.
Users in the network are called nodes. When a node creates a new block, blockchain miners solve that block's cryptographic puzzle (learn more about mining). If network users reach a consensus (51% of nodes agree on the cryptographic solution), then that block is added to the larger blockchain. Therefore, the more nodes there are and the larger the network is, the more secure it becomes.
That security can still be compromised, though. Learn more about blockchain security risks from MIT and Forbes.
Users in the network are called nodes. When a node creates a new block, blockchain miners solve that block's cryptographic puzzle (learn more about mining). If network users reach a consensus (51% of nodes agree on the cryptographic solution), then that block is added to the larger blockchain. Therefore, the more nodes there are and the larger the network is, the more secure it becomes.
That security can still be compromised, though. Learn more about blockchain security risks from MIT and Forbes.
The key: Decentralization
Quite literally, blockchain is a chain of blocks. These blocks contain some sort of data, like who traded Bitcoins to whom or the names of the previous owners of a plot of land. The blockchain is organized chronologically, showing a history of the changes made on the chain. This chain of blocks, called a ledger, is copied and shared with everyone on the network. This makes up the decentralized blockchain system.
Aspects
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