DEMYSTIFYING BLOCKCHAIN ONE BLOCK AT A TIME
LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – In the early days of the internet, evangelists were trying to get people to believe in its vast potential, and there were many who said that they did not believe in this new technology. They did not believe that information will be held on a server, but instead insisted that it would continue to be held on a CD-ROM or a floppy disk. How wrong they were! We think that blockchain has a great deal of equivalence to the internet in the mid-90’s.
What is Blockchain?
Blockchain is a technology which effectively connects people or companies in a direct way or on a peer to peer basis. For the past 20 years people have shared information through the internet. At ConsenSys we believe that blockchain as a technology, offers the internet of value so that people not only exchange information, but value from person to person or on that peer to peer basis. Using blockchain, we can now transfer ownership of a car, cast a vote in an election, or transfer a share certificate without having to go through a third party such as a bank, a government or a stockbroker.
What we have today in society are entities that control that transaction process, that own the process and insert themselves in the middle of the process.
It’s important to note that there are two main blockchains out there at the moment, one is the Bitcoin blockchain and helps makes Bitcoin work. The other form of blockchain is Ethereum which was created by ConsenSys founder Joe Lubin along with Vitalik Buterin and Gavin Wood. Effectively Ethereum is a programmable blockchain that is far more versatile than the Bitcoin blockchain. It basically allows us to build multiple different uses and applications on Ethereum.
Blockchain, as a technology has the power to eliminate that centrality and decentralise the control of this process. Change is often feared but it is nonetheless inevitable. The internet taught us that.
An extract from the INTO AFRICA April 2019 Edition: Envision Africa’s Digital Revolution. The article is written by Monica Singer (South Africa Lead, ConsenSys South Africa) and to read the full article, please download by clicking: INTO AFRICA PUBLICATION: APRIL 2019 EDITION.