The distributed database created by blockchain technology has a fundamentally different digital backbone. This is also the most distinct and important feature of blockchain technology.
In traditional fiat money systems, governments simply print more money when they need to. But in bitcoin, money isn’t printed at all – it is discovered. Computers around the world ‘mine’ for coins by competing with each other.
Bitcoin is built on a blockchain system. This means that transactions using Bitcoin are processed by being placed in blocks and then added to the chain. Each block contains just 1MB of information, which limits the amount of transactions that can be placed on each block.
Once heralded as the “silver to bitcoin’s gold”, the developers behind the long-running digital currency litecoin are seeking to re-establish the project’s prior position as the world’s second most popular cryptocurrency.
Ethereum is a platform that makes it possible for any developer to write and distribute next-generation decentralized applications.
The technology that underlies crypt-currencies like bitcoin will provide the foundation for scalable and transformative banking models and services that will address a myriad of challenges
Imagine a coded blockchain-based script that is activated when two parties send bitcoins to an escrow Bitcoin account that is controlled by the script, and which will release the bitcoins in the future to whoever wins a bet on the average level of rainfall over a certain period.
IBM is aiming to make blockchain technology business friendly enough to be used for multiple transactions and use cases.
