In an era of misinformation and fake news, it can be hard to know who or what to trust online. Blockchain looks set to change that by creating a whole new approach to computing, creating data that can be verified at the source.
What is Blockchain?
Blockchain was created as the basis for Bitcoin, one of the first digital currencies to appear on the internet. Created by a mysterious individual or group of individuals known as Satoshi Nakamoto, the technology stores details of every transaction as encrypted blocks of data that are built on top of each other, creating a verifiable history that is almost impossible to tamper with.
According to a recent article in Forbes, in the near future, every company will be using blockchain in some way, so this isn’t a technology that is going to disappear anytime soon. In fact, the blockchain is so versatile that it can be used in all sorts of ways, from recording transactions to creating websites.
At its core, the blockchain is a proven and trustworthy source of data that requires no endorsement by big companies or banks to verify the veracity of its records. Every interaction with a blockchain is stored and recorded, creating a traceable history. This makes it one of the most trusted ways of providing and disseminating information online.
Open Source
The blockchain is open source, which means that developers can access it and create their own add-ons and features that everyone can benefit from. By taking control away from the big internet players, such as Google and Microsoft, control is being passed back to the ordinary man in the street. When linked together with the trust that blockchain creates and inspires, this makes it a formidable piece of technology indeed.
Most website owners won’t need to understand the blockchain concept in order to benefit from it. There are numerous developers who are working on ways to incorporate blockchain into websites, such as https://www.redsnapper.net/, a professional web development company in London.
You do need to be familiar with the terminology, however, as blockchain is creating major waves across the internet and seems set to stay for the long term. It seems likely that in the not-too-distant future, large parts of the internet will be heavily dependent upon blockchain.