BlockChain Demystified: The Transformational Technology underlying Bitcoin!

There is a lot of media attention to the ‘bubble’ in cryptocurrencies – mainly Bitcoin- these days. As usual the popular media is sensationalizing the issue and picking up the ‘sexy’ side of the story (about overnight millionaires etc!).

As a financial regulator in Canada, I have been following this whole story for some time now. On a personal level my son and I also mined some cryptocurrency (Ether or ETH) for a while.

It pains me when I read all the media hype that the media is not covering the transformational – and I mean truly transformational – technology that underlies Bitcoin and the like. This is the BlockChain technology. I therefore thought of wiring up a blog post and also sharing the same with my groups on WA.

While I was writing up an introduction to the Blockchain technology, I came across a link to an excellent article.  I cannot express it better and don’t want to provide second hand information. So go to this link and read the article:

https://www.cryptosource.ca/single-post/2017/10/11/Introduction-to-Blockchain

For those who prefer audio-visual education, here are links to a couple of great videos explaining the same thing:

1. Blockchain Expert Explains One Concept in 5 Levels of Difficulty : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYip_Vuv8J0

2.    Ever wonder how Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) actually work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBC-nXj3Ng4&t=230s

 

As I said earlier, Blockchain, is ground breaking technology. It is already transforming traditional processes like inter-bank funds transfers and securities transactions. Major banks worldwide are investing resources into this technology. Now some companies are experimenting with Smart Contracts using Blockchain technology.

 

Bitcoin or other Cryptocurrencies –there are over a 100 of them- are only the glamorous / sexy/ controversial by products of this technology.

 

Hope this helps.