The importance of an immutable ledger!
last time we discussed bitcoin and blockchain.
Throughout history, assets such as property have been kept on ledgers which were safeguarded by an authority such as a bank or government. In most cases these ledgers were not immutable, meaning that they were subject to tampering or even deletion. Even today many governments still only keep housing ownership records on physical ledgers. This is cause for concern because they are vulnerable to circumstances such as natural disaster, theft, tampering or deletion. Unfortunately without proof of ownership anyone could lay claim to your property.
This is where blockchain comes in! We discussed Blockchain in our previous article and the purpose of this one is to highlight it’s immutable nature.
One of the biggest features blockchain is often associated with is its immutability. Blockchain by design is an immutable database in which you cannot manipulate the data that’s already stored within. The hash value of an existing block is a unique value determined by the data held within. So depending on the block’s content a unique hash value will be assigned that will identify this block only, and never an altered or different version of it. Therefore each block can reference or point to the block which precedes it, meaning blocks always reference their previous blocks and their corresponding hash.
Lets take a look at simple transaction to further break this down. Kevin wants to send money to Lisa. This transaction is represented as a “block.” This block is broadcast to every member of the network. The people in the network approve whether the transaction taking place is valid. As more transactions go on, a chain is formed (Blockchain), that visually show transparency in transactions. Lastly, the cash is sent from Kevin to Lisa, and the transaction is complete.
So in this example, blockchain’s immutable nature is visible, making it flawless. The issues surrounding tampering, deletion, hacking etc are resolved! The fact that we have validations combined with the blockchain hashing process and cryptography makes it immutable and therefore an obvious solution for recording everything to do with assets to monetary transactions and even personal records.
Do you think blockchain will take over as the universally adopted way of doing business? Let me know your thoughts on the comments.
