Currently, there seems to be a lot of confusion about the features that differentiate a blockchain from a database. As blockchain is a ledger that stores information in blocks, it actually makes it a database. A database in the same way stores information in data structures named tables.

Nevertheless, a blockchain is a database, but a database is not a blockchain. Both these structures should never be interchanged as both of them serve a different purpose.

People who wish to learn why blockchains and traditional databases make a better option to store data have to wrap their head around the difference between a blockchain and a traditional database.

Traditional Databases

Traditional databases function on client-server network architecture. In this scenario, the control of the database remains with a designated authority who can provide users or clients access to modify the data stored on a centralized server. As the authority is responsible for administering the database, when security issues arise within the authority, it is likely that the data can be altered or even deleted.

Blockchain

Several decentralized nodes constitute a blockchain where each node participates in the administration process – verifying new updates and entering new data into the database. You can learn more about how nodes perform changes on the blockchain here (link to the article A SIMPLE GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BLOCKCHAIN AND DISTRIBUTED LEDGER).

When it comes to Bitcoin, mining (solving complex hashing puzzles) leads to consensus, whereas in Ethereum, proof of stake is considered the mechanism to reach consensus.

The Important Differences

Transparency and Integrity

Thanks to integrity and transparency, public verifiability is one of the most important features that distinguish blockchain technology from a traditional database.

Integrity: Users can be sure that the data they retrieve are uncorrupted and unaltered from the moment it was generated.

Transparency: Every user possesses the capability to analyse and verify how the blockchain has been appended throughout is existence.

2.Validating And Writing

Validation of transactions and writing a new transaction are two of the important functions of blockchain. Transactions are operations performed to change the state of data that are included on the blockchain. Though past entries are to be kept the same, the addition of a new entry can change the entire state of data in the previous entries.

For instance, in case 1 million BTC is recorded in a blockchain, the figure permanently remains stored in the blockchain. If I spend 300,000 BTC, it is recorded onto the blockchain and the balance is recorded as 700,000 BTC. Nevertheless, as the blockchain can only be updated, the balance of 1 million BTC before the transaction remains as such on the blockchain. For this reason, blockchain is also referred to as an immutable and distributed ledger.

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CRUD Vs Read And Write Operations

Basically, a traditional database allows the clients to perform 4 main functions – CRUD Commands aka Create, Read, Update, and Delete.

As stated earlier, blockchain is an append-only structure. Thus, a user cannot make any changes to the previous content but can only add more data to it. For this reason, the only operations associated with blockchain happens to be:

Read Operations: Make queries and retrieve data from the blockchain

Write Operations: Add more data to the blockchain

Everything’s About Decentralized Control

At the end of the day, everything comes down to decentralized control. Decentralization eliminates all the risks associated with centralized control.

In a centralized ecosystem, anyone who has access to the database can corrupt the data within. Therefore, users have to rely on certain security infrastructure of the database administrator.

When it comes to blockchain technology, it sidesteps this issue posed by decentralized data storage by incorporating security into its structure.

Blockchain technology makes a better option to record and store certain kinds of information; while traditional databases help with storing all the other forms of information. Therefore, before leveraging either blockchain or traditional database, you should first understand your organization’s requirements as of what it will require from a database.