Blockchain: Understanding Its Uses and Implications

Highlights

Blockchain technology is changing how businesses operate. With trust built into blockchain solutions, it is important to understand how this new technology is different and how it works in comparison with technologies of the past.

First, we cover the main concepts of what blockchain is and some of its major characteristics. We take you through the important players in this diverse community. We discuss how it began, first introduced for the administration of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency, and how it is now applied to all aspects of business including government, banking, supply chains, and other industries.

Next, we analyze the mechanics of blockchains and how they work. We will cover the concept of transparent ledgers, public and permissioned, and focus on using cryptography to achieve consensus, immutability, and transparency. This is all part of blockchain's ability to provide "trusted data from untrusted sources", disrupting traditional accounting methodologies and international trade.

We will cover some of the functions of blockchain. You will discover the power of the smart contract, the building blocks for transactions on the blockchain. You will gain an understanding of the different blockchain structures and how start up decisions influence how your blockchain deals with security, identity, consensus, and governance.

We then dive into the various methods of blockchain governance. You will understand how different governance models dictate how your blockchain operates, and gain insight into consortiums and how this transformative technology is creating new avenues of communication.

Next, we examine the problems blockchain solves that have been difficult to overcome in the past with more centralized architectures, discovering how blockchain tackles the double spend issue, creates autonomy and transparency while facilitating innovative ways for multiple parties to interact. You will then discover the new and creative ways blockchain is changing the future. New insights and models dealing with Identity will be explored. You will look at trends in Decentralized Finance, NFT (non-fungible tokens), CBDC (central bank digital currencies) and how the push for interoperability between blockchains is becoming increasingly important.

Finally, we take a deep dive into the various use cases of blockchain, complete with analyzing real examples of how different industries are executing the technology and opening up new avenues for improving their businesses.