What is Block Chain? A brief Introduction!

The blockchain is the heart and brain of a cryptocurrency and is a technology in itself.

The blockchain is a massive network of linked databases that are all constantly updating each other so that every single computer on the bitcoin network share the same information. The database contains a history of every single transaction that has taken place and notes every single last bitcoin. Every transaction is timestamped and the records will be kept for ever.

Any new nodes will synchronise a copy of the data to their computer and form another cog in the network.

Nodes come and go but the blockchain is all of these various computers - there is no single "master" computer and it is completely and utterly decentralized.

Rapid advancements in this area have led to other uses for blockchain technology.

Seeing as every transaction is final and indisputable, blockchains can be used for a huge variety of things and new developments allow the use of "smart contracts" to be used. A smart contract is a contract that is created on a blockchain between 2 parties that is verified and made public and thus can not be disputed.

This means that in due course, blockchain technology can be used for things like recording the sale of a car or a house, recording population data, marriage, deaths, divorces, music royalties, land registries etc

. An example of a smart contract would be one where a contract is made between a landlord and a tenant, the contract might stipulate that every month on a given day - currency is transferred to the landlord and the transaction is noted, verified and displayed publicly on the blockchain.

Labour is another good example because this can showcase how a smart contract can interact outside of the blockchain yet record transaction on the blockchain.

A work smart contract is set up between an employer and a worker. The worker clocks in to work at the start of the day, and his start time is recorded to a blockchain. When he finishes work, he clocks out and his clock out time is recorded again. At the end of the month, his total hours are tallied up automatically and a payment is sent to his cryptocurrency address on file. In this scenario, blockchain has replaced the need for a "salaries" person to do all this and issue a payment. The worker is protected because his hours are verified by the entry on the blockchain. The employer is protected because the worker only gets paid what is recorded on the blockchain.