Web3 and Blockchain

I Love Blockchain — and here’s why.

Decoding the modern-day tech!

photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash

When in 1991, Stuart Haber and W Scott Stornetta invented a cryptographically secured chain of blocks, it was unlikely that they ever thought a developer(s) under the pseudonym ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ would invent the Bitcoin blockchain in 2009, making it the buzzword of 21st century!

But, what exactly blockchain is, and what are its properties? Why is it even relevant? By the end of this blog, all of these would be clarified and hopefully, you fall in love with this amazing technology (just like me).

What Is Blockchain?

As the name suggests, it’s a chain of blocks. To be more specific, a decentralized chain of immutable blocks of information that are cryptographically connected.

• Blocks of data get connected to the previous set of blocks in chronological order, once it is filled. Each block contains a hash(encryption of the data into a special text string) of the previous block, along with its data and hash.

contents of a block, photo courtesy of Xavier on simply explained

• The collection of these blocks can be referred to as a distributed database or ledger that is shared among the participating nodes of a computer network. Each block facilitates the digital storage of data in such a manner that it can never be amended.

What are the properties of Blockchain?

Have you ever thought, why is Blockchain- a distributed ledger technology- such awesome, that digital assets like cryptocurrencies and virtual worlds like Metaverses are being built upon them? Here are the properties, which make it worth the hype!

The properties of DLT. Photo courtesy of Euromoney.

• Programmable- The execution of an agreement or transactions on a blockchain can be automated by coding the backend. These programs are known as Smart contracts on the ethereum network, coded using Solidity language. Rust language is mostly used to code the backend on the Solana blockchain.

Solidity language (left) and Rust Language (right)

• Distributed - All the network participants have a copy of the ledger, ensuring transparency. Whenever a new block is added to the blockchain, every computer on the network updates its blockchain to reflect the change, this ascertains the distribution.
• Decentralized - In a decentralized environment, no control or decision-making power can be exercised by a central authority over the distributed network. Thus, there is no central authority who owns the data, providing a trustless environment. Decentralization is one of the features which makes Blockchain technology nifty and unique!
• Secure - Encryption is a very important feature in the blockchain. Each record in the blocks is individually encrypted using a cryptographic technique, Hash. Hashes are a one-way mathematical function that generates a fingerprint of the input, but decrypting the fingerprint to get the original input is almost impossible. Thus, they are very secure. The Bitcoin blockchain uses SHA-256 cryptographic encryption.

SHA-256 produces a string of 64 alphanumeric letters, encrypting the message.

• Immutable - All the records, once validated, cannot be changed making it irreversible. Each block contains the hash of the previous block, therefore if the information in a block is subjected to tampering, the whole blockchain network will be informed due to the change in hash. Thus, it contributes to the security and immutability of the network

Let M be the record of the block which is to be tampered.
H(M) be the hash.
Let M' be the tampered record.
H(M)!= H(M')
As H(M) is stored in the successor block, the tamepering is easily identified.

A message with no ‘!’ — — — Even the slightest change in the message is reflected in the hash — — — The same message with ‘!’

• Anonymous - In blockchain networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum, only the public key address of the participating members are known, and in cases of privacy-oriented blockchain like Z-cash and Monero, neither the address nor other credentials are visible. Thus, Blockchain offers anonymity or pseudonymity to its participants.
• Time-stamped - Each block also contains a unique serial code that defines the exact moment at which that specific block has been mined and validated by the network, this code is called the Time-stamp. They help the network to determine the rate of block generation for a certain period, based on which the mining difficulty parameter is adjusted.
• Unanimous - The unanimity lies in the agreement of each block’s validity. All network participants have the same ledger on their systems, providing transparency for each record, thus, all the nodes can verify the credibility unanimously.

What is the relevance and future of Blockchain?

A centralized network is highly prone to hacking and can be subjected to mishandling of data ( kudos to Zuckerberg), making it unreliable!

Bored Ape and CryptoPunk NFTs ( photo courtesy of decrypt. co )

This is where Blockchain shines! It not only does solve the letdowns of centralized technology -by being decentralized and highly secure- but also, is the underlying technology of the web3 era. From Cryptocurrencies and NFTs to Metaverse and Gaming, it’s no longer a question of if the tech giants will participate in it- it’s a question of when. While writing this blog, Meta (formerly Facebook), Microsoft, and Apple are already participating in the Metaverses. Companies like Binance and Atari, respectively own lands in Decentraland and Sandbox metaverses.

Binance HQ in Decentraland (right), lands owned by Atari and SnoppDogg in Sandbox(left)

Blockchain is a very scalable and revolutionary technology, mainly due to its unique properties. It has found its usage in varied fields, ranging from supply chain management to decentralized autonomous organizations. Blockchain is undeniably defining the future of the modern technological world, and here’s why, Blockchain technology is my absolute love, and now hopefully yours too!

Hey there, I am Mitrashis Basu Roy, a computer science freshman and a Web3, Blockchain, and Investing enthusiast. This is my first blog of the ‘I love’ series, meant for everything-Web3. Connect with me on my Linkedin. Stay tuned for more!