It was the devastating effects of the 2008 financial crisis that gave way to the rise of blockchain technology, in particular, the bitcoin blockchain. The bitcoin blockchain is revolutionary because it enables the world to transact without the need of a middleman. This elimination of the centuries old middleman was partly due to one inherent property of the bitcoin blockchain - Immutability

Lets breakdown the term: Immutable Immutable in the dictionary is - “Unchanging over time or unable to be changed ”

Immutable in blockchain is - "The inability of a block to be deleted or modified once it is in the blockchain" - An immutable ledger

​​​​You’re probably wondering:

" Why is blockchain immutability so important in knocking off the middleman anyways? "

It is the property of immutability in the Bitcoin blockchain that gives users the assurance that their wealth and information cannot be tampered with. Such an “assurance” is normally given to us by middlemen - like banks. And we often take them up on that assurance, and bestow our trust upon them. We trust that our banks will protect our money & information.

Unlike middlemen, you don’t have to trust the bitcoin blockchain to be sure your wealth and information will be protected - It is a “trustless” system. And an Immutable blockchain allows for that. In fact, it is one of the key pillar stones of the Bitcoin blockchain.

Immutable Blockchain: Tamper Proof vs Tamper Evident

Blockchain Immutability is often misunderstood – even among industry enthusiasts. To truly understand the essence of blockchain immutability, we need to clear out the confusion between Tamper Evident & Tamper Proof.

Tamper Evident - An object cannot be tampered with, without it going unnoticed

Tamper Proof - An object cannot be tampered with ​

To be truly Immutable, you need to be Tamper PROOF. Being Tamper Evident is not enough. Several Blockchains falsely claim immutability when they are merely Tamper Evident.