Cryptocurrency and Blockchain applications
Originally, the Blockchain arose to support the digital currency, bitcoin, but it seems that its potential goes far beyond financial transactions. Do you know all the applications of the Blockchain?
It is not a new concept, since it emerged in 2009, but it is now when it is taking more value and importance. To understand the benefits of Blockchain it is necessary to understand what it was designed for.
Blockchain
When making a bank transfer, a number of financial intermediaries are needed. These intermediaries have the function of proving and verifying that we are who we say we are, without privacy having a place in this operation. The user has no control over the process, but the intermediaries manage the transfer and impose its conditions, charging interest for example.
The Blockchain, or blockchain in its translation into Spanish, aims to end intermediaries and that all have the same information. Thus, the financial transaction would not be controlled by the bank, but by the users. The Blockchain works like a database, in this case it would be like a ledger of which all the participants have a copy.
Each participant in this immense accounting database is identified as a node, and these nodes connect in a P2P (peer-to-peer) network without a main computer, thus favoring decentralization. The message transmitted is called a “token”, the definition of which would be “representation of the information hosted by the network”. This token can be any type of service or asset: money in the form of bitcoin, purchase of real estate, payment for supplies. Regardless of their type, all tokens have something in common, they travel encrypted, that is, their content is unknown. The transfer of these tokens is grouped into blocks (hence the name blockchain or blockchain), and those that do not fit in one block are grouped into the next, forming a chain.
To guarantee anonymity and prevent fraud, the Blockchain uses a verification system. Thus, if ‘user A’ wants to send money to ‘user B’ he has to make sure to send information to the rest of ‘nodes’, who will be responsible for validating that the operation is correct. To verify it, it is only necessary for ‘user A’ to show that they have money in their account and that ‘user B’ has an open account. Once confirmed, the operation is tied to the previous one, each time creating a larger and larger block. Thus, the Blockchain, which was conceived to support a digital currency or Bitcoin, certifies an anonymous and 100% secure money transfer. Profit secret app is one of most used bitcoin applications.
Blockchain applications
However, the true importance of Blockchain arises now, since it is a mechanism that could be applied to any type of transaction that requires verification. In this sense, in any case where a transfer needs to be made (which does not have to be money, but may be data) between two or more parties in an environment of mistrust, the opportunities of the blockchain would be infinite, since it would allow them to be done without the involvement of intermediaries. Here are some examples:
Elections
Being able to vote through the Blockchain is already a reality in some countries such as Sierra Leone, which has recently become the first to use the blockchain in an election. A company has developed a platform that allows 100% digital voting to be cast through a mobile application.
Thus, its operation is simple: the voter first receives a unique bidi code or QR code, non-transferable and associated with their identity, which ensures the privacy and authenticity of the vote. Through this code the voter accesses the application, which is directly linked to the Blockchain database. Within this application an administrator creates a survey with a question (in this case referring to the elections) and different answers. The code is scanned both to enter the application, as once it has been chosen among the responses, thus finally casting the vote.
This new use of the Blockchain represents a revolution, as it prevents citizens from having to go to polling stations. In addition, this system automatically counts the votes, which ends with the waiting time in the election results.
