Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies, Public Chains- Steemit Crypto Academy Season 4 Beginners' Course - Homework Post for Task 5

(3) What Is Public Chain and What will be the Advantages and Disadvantages of Public Chain?

WHAT IS PUBLIC CHAIN

A public chain is a permissionless and decentralized platform that is accessible by anyone. This literally means anyone can write, join and read any information on the platform. Thus, the Public chain offers unrestricted assess to all users. It encourages new users or participants to join and keep the network agile. It encourages authority-free operation. Because of the decentralized nature of a public chain, it does not have a single entity that controls the blockchain. Data is very secure and not possible to alter and modify once it is validated on the blockchain.

A public chain does not work or operate as a private chain. This is because a private chain is a centralized network where a group of people manage and manage it. A public chain offers greater transparency as compared to a private chain.

Public chains validate their transactions by using a consensus mechanism. They offer a better way to send and receive P2P payments than private networks.

One interesting thing about public chains is that data in a public chain can be stored in the public domain which can easily be accessed by anyone in the system. Moreover, the public chain operates just like the democratic system of government.

Power and control are bestowed on the users in the network.

What will be the Advantages and Disadvantages of Public chain

ADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC CHAIN

1. Public chain ensures and encourages anonymity.
   The participants, users, and miners in the public chain always remain anonymous. This means their identities are unknown. Moreover, participants do have to prove themselves before joining the platform since anyone is eligible or qualified to join the platform.

2. The public chain is immutable.
   This is because data on a public blockchain is very secure and not possible to modify or alter the data once it is validated on the blockchain. This enhances participants' confidence since their data is secure. Fraudulent activities are eliminated because data cannot be manipulated or changed once it is confirmed in the blockchain.

3. There is transparency on the public chain.
   A public chain offers great transparency because the data stored in the public chain cannot be modified by anyone on the platform but can be viewed by all participants on the platform. This makes it transparent.

4. It is a decentralized system.
   It can be accessible by anyone. Meaning anyone can write, join and read any information on the platform. The Public chain offers unrestricted assess to all users. It is not controlled by a group of people or an individual. Anyone can join without necessarily consulting someone or taking permission from a group of people. Making it easily accessible.

5. It ensures equal rights.
   Participants on the platform have equal rights since it's not controlled by an individual or a group of people. This ensures equal rights to participants in the platform.

6. It offers an easier and cheaper way to make transactions.
   Public chains validate their transactions by using a consensus mechanism. They offer a better way to send and receive P2P payments. It provides a very easy means of making transactions around the world. This is just because no third parties are involved in this blockchain.

DISADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC CHAIN

1. The anonymity on the public chain can be a problem.
   Because the identity of participants on the chain is unknown, it becomes very difficult to track fraudsters on the platform in the case of fraud activities. Moreover, illicit activities can take place on the platform without being able to trace these participants because they don't prove their identity before joining.

2. High energy consumption.
   The public chain tends to use a lot of electrical energy power. This is very expensive hence not every user can afford it. The public chain requires a significant amount of electrical resources to function and achieve network consensus.

3. The problem of scalability.
   The transactions on the public chain tend to be much slower as compared to the private chain because there are many nodes connected to it. This processes transactions only at a slow pace.

4. Public chains are trustless.
   Every participant on the platform can read or view the data on the blockchain. Hence, everyone can understand whatever is happening on/within the platform.

5. There is a high risk of a potential collision in a public chain.
   This is because on this platform no one knows who each validator is.

Conclusion: I'm very thankful to professor @stream4u for this wonderful lecture. This lecture has broadened my scope on the public chain. It has made me appreciate the advantages of this chain and the disadvantages. I can boldly say I have come to understand this very well.