What is blockchain? This question comes up first when people hear about this new technology. It’s also a technology that currently is hidden somewhere on the online web and hasn’t reached the mainstream media yet.

What is Blockchain

So what is blockchain? First start with the founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, who is not even a real person but a pseudonym or maybe a group of people. This raises even more questions and makes it also a bit mysterious. Blockchain allows digital information to be distributed but not copied, over the internet. In this case, it uses Bitcoin, a form of digital money, to be transferred over the online web. In this article, I’ll try to explain what blockchain is and what interesting opportunities it brings.

Array blocks of data

A blockchain uses blocks of data which are called a chain. These blocks are part of a distributed network of computers. The data is secured by cryptographic principles and are related to each other. When data is added to a block, a timestamp occurs and the record cannot be changed anymore.

This doesn’t sound very spectacular but still, this technology has some disrupting possibilities. First, it has no central owner and is thereby a democratic system. Second, it has transparency and the information added to the ledger can be seen by anyone who is interested in it.

Explanation and the idea behind blockchain

A blockchain carries no transaction cost. The blockchain passes information from A to B in a fully automated and secure way. When a computer(called a node) wants to start using the network, it has to create a block first. This block will be distributed over the network and verified by the other nodes on the network. These nodes can be thousands even millions, it totally depends on the size of the total network.

Blocks and nodes

When a block is accepted by the network, it will be added to the chain. At this moment the total chain is updated with this new block of data. All the nodes over the network will immediately store this new chain on their hard disk. This is very crucial because this makes falsifying the chain almost impossible. The reason why is because now you have thousands or even millions of copies with this unique chain stored locally. This decentralized storage of data protects the safety of the chain and the total network. Bitcoin, the first blockchain ever created, uses it to store digital transactions on the network but it can be used in many ways.

Railways

For example a railway company. You can buy tickets on an app or website. After this transaction, the credit card company takes a fee for its service. Blockchain comes with the idea to remove the third party out of this transaction process. In this case, the credit card company will be removed. The railway operator does not just save money on transaction fees but it can outsource it’s ticketing process entirely to the blockchain.

So how does this work? In this scenario, a ‘ticket blockchain’ exists. When a passenger buys a ticket, a block(or ticket) will be created and added to the ‘ticket blockchain’. After the creation of this block, the blockchain will validate if the transaction is valid. If valid, the ticket will be added to the chain and the passenger has bought a ticket. Also, this ticket will be stored on the chain and can be tracked at any time if needed.

To summarize, the use of this blockchain is totally free! When there is a transaction needed between two parties, the blockchain can be used to save transaction fees.

Online marketing campaigns

When it comes to marketing, this new evolving technology could change the online marketing world completely. When implemented the right way, with this I primarily mean decentralized, data of online users will come from a very different perspective. Blockchain technology will allow the user to control their own online data. This is the total opposite of how online marketing agencies and companies like Facebook approach their users nowadays.

Facebook is currently very busy with launching its own type of cryptocurrency called Libra. With launching its own online digital currency, Facebook is very aware of what impact blockchain technology will have on modern marketing campaigns.

Fiverr, Uber and AirBnb

Here is another example. Fiverr, the website which is a marketplace for freelancers or digital services charges 0,5 dollars on every 5 dollar transaction. If blockchain technology was used the transaction costs would disappear. This market-maker principle used by Fiverr or any other business online will eventually go away when blockchain technology enters the market.

Uber and Airbnb, two very young innovative companies, are already threatened by blockchain technology. These two companies disrupted the traditional economy(Taxi companies and hotels) by offering only an online app. Create a blockchain instead, which validates hotel bookings or taxi rides and these companies are already out of business. Blockchain not only eliminates the fee processing middleman but also removes the need for a match-making platform.

Online subscription services

Currently, parties like The Economist or National Geographic charge a monthly subscription or even an annual subscription fee. The use of blockchain technology introduces the option to pay only per article. This can be done on Facebook or any other favorite app. Because the use of a blockchain carries no transaction cost, only pay for the service offered is needed.

Blockchain education

Blockchain technology is quite a popular term and has won the interest of many start-ups and online companies. Market data is showing that this industry is growing very fast and that there is a rising demand for technically skilled people. As a result of this, there are already several online platforms that offer the possibility to join a Blockchain education program.

Blockchain & Online music industry

Blockchain may make selling recorded music profitable again for artists by cutting out music companies and distributors like Apple or Spotify. The music you buy could even be encoded in the blockchain itself, making it a cloud archive for any song purchased. Because the amounts charged can be so small, subscription and streaming services will become irrelevant.

E-Books on the blockchain

It goes further. E-Books could be fitted with a code or hash. The E-Books circulate now on a blockchain and are encoded. Every time a buyer appears online and starts a transaction, the blockchain will validate this. When everything seems valid according to the blockchain network, the money will be transferred to the author, and the E-Book will be unlocked and available for the buyer.

To summarize, when artists or writers are using a blockchain, ALL the money will go to them and royalties are a thing of the past.

The financial industry

Last but not least, the financial world. This technology will have the most impact on this type of industry. This is a very traditional industry and the sentiment by consumers is more or less like “we have to deal with them and we just need them”. Bitcoin, the first blockchain created, is disrupting this kind of industry. All services currently offered by banks like bank accounts, loans and mortgages can be replaced by a blockchain. If all the people in the world would start using a blockchain today instead of banks, the entire financial industry would go bankrupt.

Transaction volume on the blockchain

Luckily for the banks today, the bitcoin blockchain isn’t ready for this kind of volume. That doesn’t mean it won’t come. Currently, software developers all over the world are collaborating and trying to makes this work. The latest innovation is called The Lightning Network which will create a new virtual layer above the current blockchain. How this exactly works is a totally different story that I won’t cover in this blog. So how will this technology have an impact on the bankers today? In the near future bankers will become mere advisers, not gatekeepers of money. Stockbrokers will no longer be able to earn commissions and the buy/sell spread will disappear.

Technical explanation of blockchain

So how does this all work technically? Picture an excel spreadsheet, that is shared across thousands of computers on a network. They have all the same exact copy stored locally. When one of the participants wants to update this sheet, the entire network uses an algorithm to validate this update. You can say this algorithm is a puzzle(the same for every participant) and very hard to calculate. To solve this puzzle comes with a lot of processing power and electricity. When the puzzle is solved a new block on the chain is created.

Cryptography & decentralization

The participant who solved this gets a reward paid in bitcoin(can be any token). This process of solving a cryptographic puzzle is called mining and is very crucial within the validation process. After the validation is done a copy of this excel sheet is stored on every computer within the network. So the information is stored on a blockchain is shared decentral. This is totally the opposite of how data is stored on the internet nowadays. Data is currently stored at central parties all over the internet(Google, Facebook or Youtube).

I think the decentralization of data will be the next step in the evolution of the online web. Currently, people aren’t happy with the way Facebook or Google handles our private data. Blockchain technology implemented the right way(!) users all over the world, will be back in control over their own data.

Bonus video

Finally, I’m wondering if you can give other examples of industries the blockchain technology could disrupt? Feel free to post below!