The concept of blockchain became more and more popular as the digital currency market became hotter. Although blockchain is not necessarily related to cryptocurrencies, the biggest cryptocurrencies – such as Bitcoin and Ethereum – use blockchain technology. Blockchain can be seen simply as a way to record and store information in a wide and distributed way. In this article, we will answer the question of what is blockchain in simple language, we will get acquainted with its structure and finally we will answer the common questions raised in the field of blockchain technology. Stay tuned with NFTBooks.
What is blockchain?
As mentioned above, blockchain is a type of database. But what is a database? A database is a collection of information stored electronically in a computer system; But blockchain stores data and information in a new way. In fact, one of the main differences between blockchain and other databases is the structure of information storage in it. A block chain collects information in groups called Blocks that contain a set of information. These blocks have a limited capacity and can store a certain amount of information. When the capacity of a block is completed and that block is filled, it is added to the previously filled block and thus creates a chain of blocks containing information, which is called Blockchain or block chain.
Blockchain is simply a distributed ledger or immutable database that stores information.
blockchain consists of two words block and chain which means block chain; But why did they choose this name for this technology? Information in blockchain technology is placed in a series of blocks that are connected to each other in a chain, hence this technology is named blockchain, just in accordance with the type of function that this technology has. If we want to bring the basic and important concepts of blockchain in a table, it will be as follows:
| # | Phrase | Description |
| 1 | Block | The spaces where information is stored are called blocks |
| 2 | Chain | The basis of placing the blocks is expressed as a chain. |
| 3 | Blockchain | Consecutive blocks are called blockchain and form a distributed ledger to record information. |
| 4 | Distributed ledger | A distributed ledger is a decentralized database for recording and maintaining data. Blockchain is one type of distributed ledger. |
In the era of technology, data and information have the first word and a lot of data and information is produced in the world of technology every day. But it is the maintenance, recording and proper use of this information that leads mankind to progress and comfort; The emerging Blockchain technology, which is referred to as the greatest human invention after the Internet, plays a big role in this way. Blockchain technology has shown with its capabilities that it intends to help to travel this way as quickly as possible; But what exactly is blockchain technology?
Blockchain history
Perhaps one of the reasons that most people consider Bitcoin to be the same as Blockchain is that Blockchain technology was first introduced in 2009 in the Bitcoin programming code. After that, in addition to Bitcoin, other currencies were able to use this technology and launch their own coins. Later, with more and better knowledge of this technology, experts realized that the only use and application of blockchain is not digital currencies; But this technology has many applications. As a result, it can be used in different fields. Currently, blockchains with different applications are being used, each of which has different uses according to their characteristics. But let’s go back to the basic question of what is blockchain?
How does blockchain work?
Let’s see what this blockchain technology is and how it works. If you are familiar with the world of computers and information technology, you have probably heard the term database. To put it simply, a database is a space for storing information, which is naturally created and controlled by a person or center. Blockchain technology can be considered a network that has a function like a database but is not centralized and is not controlled by an institution or organization, the information stored in the blockchain has a series of differences with the information stored in the database.
In blockchain, all recorded information is shared among all members of the network, and the interesting thing is that this information cannot be changed or deleted in any way. In order to understand this sentence, we need to go a little deeper and answer the question of what is blockchain more precisely.
As mentioned earlier, information in the blockchain is stored in a series of blocks. This information can be anything and is not limited to transactions. Each block, in addition to the information stored in it, has a “hash” in the form of a set of characters that special algorithms are used to create. Each block has its own hash according to the information inside it, and these hashes are a kind of symbol of the information inside that block. Interestingly, even if a very small piece of information is changed or deleted, the hash changes as a whole. Even the hash of other blocks is changed! Why? Because each block stores the hash of the previous block in addition to its own hash; Therefore, it is called a chain of blocks.
Well, now that we understand what blockchain is, the question arises, does it mean that no one can change the contents of a block? Yes, it can, but this change does not go away from the eyes of the network members and the whole network must approve this change; Otherwise, it has no validity and the changes will not be applied. So the view that the information in the blockchain is immutable is not correct. Suppose someone puts a music file in a blockchain and stores it in it; Therefore, all members of the network have a copy of it. Even if the person himself deletes or changes the music file, the rest of the network members will not accept this; Because they have a copy of the original version of that music file. There is no way to delete this file except to take the computers of the network members and delete that file, which is practically impossible. But after explaining what blockchain is, let’s go to the features and benefits of blockchain technology to see why this technology has grown so fast.
Features of blockchain
In the following, we will mention the unique features of blockchain technology:
Security
Information is encrypted and then stored in the blockchain, which increases the security of the information. The issues related to the hash that we mentioned are also in the direction of increasing security.
Transparency
Another remarkable thing about blockchain is that information is visible to all its members, so transparency is at its peak (of course, in public blockchains and generally for members who have permission to approve and view transactions).
Unchangeable
Another interesting feature of the blockchain is that the information in the blockchain cannot be changed or deleted without the approval of the majority. We mentioned the reason for this above. That is, if information is recorded, it is over; All members can see it, it cannot be deleted or changed, and it is extremely secure.
It is better to mention an example to make this matter more concrete. Imagine that Alex wants to send some money to Jessica. First, Alex announces his request and this request is sent to the network and becomes a transaction. After that, network servers (network members) receive Alex’s message (transaction) and check its authenticity, whether Alex has this amount of assets or not, has he installed a trick? Is there a Jessica with that profile? If this request is true, the transaction will be done and Alex’s money will be transferred to Jessica on the blockchain, without the need for a bank or an intermediary. At the end, all the information is stored in the block.
But the more interesting thing is that almost everyone thinks that the only work of the blockchain is to transfer digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, etc.; But this is only one of the applications of blockchain. Since the word “transaction” is mostly used in financial matters, it might make us think that only financial transactions are meant to be recorded in the blockchain. But in fact it is not so. If Alex wants to publish even a book as an NFT on the network, this operation is recorded as a transaction, which is one of the applications of the NFTBooks decentralized library. The applications of this technology are still being developed and now we can see that this new technology is used for more transparent and fraud-free voting.
Today, many companies are looking for an answer to the question of what blockchain is, and today they are using blockchain in different parts of their business, which we will introduce some of them in the future.
