Since the internet fully started in the early ’90s, data has been controlled by internet giants like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and many other technology companies in centralized systems. The usage of data is determined by them and sold to advertisers in exchange for fiat currencies like dollars, pounds, etc. without paying the users/consumers any penny. We rely on digital companies to secure our data, passwords and other personal details.
Now, we have the new internet which brings trust, openness and control over the use of data using the blockchain technology. It gives power to no government body or platform. The technology first appeared in 2008 and started operation when the first cryptocurrency (bitcoin) was built on it in 2009 bringing up an open or let me say a decentralized system where payments can be done any-day, any-time, any-where without interference from financial systems and governments. Strangers can even be trusted on the network making transaction done with anybody. The network acts as a trusted agency between two parties. It has changed how we use the internet and will continue to disrupt every sector now and beyond.
It is popularly used in the finance industry with the introduction of cryptocurrencies (bitcoin, ether, litecoin, etc) giving you control over your money and to make instant payments to anybody in the world with very low transaction fees, unlike the traditional systems which require high transaction fees without delay from payment gateways or banks. It involves no cross-border fees. Other fields where the blockchain technology is being used are energy, cybersecurity, cloud storage, crowdfunding, lending and many more.
One may ask, what is the meaning of this “Blockchain” that is being talked about. In simple terms, Blockchain is only a way to structure data. It is a distributed ledger used for record-keeping, which is hosted on a peer-to-peer network of participating nodes and miners whose cooperation is both enabled and governed by a consensus protocol which states rules of the network.
There are several other systems built on the blockchain technology, we have Ethereum (platform) which uses ether (cryptocurrency) as fuel to run the network. Other examples of blockchain networks are IOTA, Ripple, Storj, Golem, etc.
In a world with many blockchains and hundreds of tradable tokens built on top of them, entire industries are automated through software, venture capital and stock markets are circumvented, entrepreneurship is streamlined, and networks gain sovereignty through their own digital currency. This is the next phase of the internet.
Invest in this growing technology, don’t be a spectator because the future is here.
For more information on the blockchain technology, you can visit the links below to fully understand how it works:
· http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/blockchain.asp
· https://www.udemy.com/blockchain-cryptocurrency-course-101-for-absolute-beginners/learn/v4/overview
· https://hackernoon.com/3-steps-to-understanding-blockchain-8a285572daa3