We write stories about blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. However, many of you ask questions about the technology, what is blockchain, why blockchain, can blockchain be hacked, and many more. Today, we want to answer a few of those questions.



What is blockchain technology?

Blockchain or chain of blocks is a list of records called blocks. They are linked using cryptographic methods. The first work concerning a cryptographically secured chain of blocks started in the early 90s. Two people joined forces to develop a prototype of what we know today as blockchain.

When blockchain started? In 2008. That year, an anonymous person or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto published a manifesto, which described the whole blockchain technology and Bitcoin as the first cryptocurrency.



How blockchain works

Blockchain works as decentralized, distributed public digital ledger. It is used to record transaction between many computers in an unrevisable way. Participants can verify and audit transactions independently and at reasonably low costs. A blockchain database is built on a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.



What blockchain can do

Blockchain near me, blockchain near us, and blockchain without cryptocurrency. That is still a futuristic vision, but it will certainly happen. Right now, blockchain and cryptocurrencies are usually put together. But the blockchain technology can offer much more. For instance, it can be used to organize work in companies, to make shipment supply chains across the whole world without the contribution of people, or even in video games. Blockchain has so many applications that you can make almost everything based on it.



Can blockchain be hacked?

Simple answer: yes. The blockchain is just a technology and it can be hacked. However, it is one of the toughest technologies to hack. Blockchain guarantees a very high level of security, but it isn’t immune to attacks. Many hacks come from inside. It is easier to attack your own network.

To understand blockchain’s security, you have to know algorithms on which blockchain systems are constructed. There is proof-of-stake (PoS), proof-of-work (PoW) and proof-of-ownership (PoO). These algorithms check out whether particular nodes of the network should be trusted or not.

Still, blockchain is probably the safest technology in the world, and the level of security is constantly increasing.



To sum up: blockchain tools are the future. The technology is still relatively new, and it will take a few years to adapt it massively. However, blockchain has so much potential that it can be used on a larger scale.

