Bits on Blocks - Thoughts on blockchain technology
A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger. But new distributed ledgers are emerging. These are databases where control over the data’s evolution is shared between entities. Here’s a handy cheatsheet.
This short post is inspired by a conversation I had recently with a couple of finance professors from top business schools who had some questions about blockchains.
In the context of distributed ledgers, the difference between shared data and shared control of data is crucial. This post discusses: Sharing of data vs shared control of data; Control of data by rules vs by power;
Enforcement of rules by participants.
In the context of data security, the immutability of data stored on blockchains is important. What do people mean when they say “Blockchains are immutable”? In this post I try to explain the key concepts. It...
Smart contracts can be thought of as “automated trustworthy workflow between parties without a central specific co-ordinator.”. Here’s how I think about them.
People use the term ‘blockchain technology’ to mean different things, and it can be confusing. This article is a gentle introduction to blockchain technology and assumes minimal technical knowledge. It attempts to describe “what it is” rather than “why should I care”.
Bits on Blocks by Antony Lewis is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
