What is blockchain?
It literally means blockchain. is a base data or public record that can be shared by multitude of users in peer-to-peer mode (P2P or network of pairs) and that allows the storage of information immutable and organized.
It is a term associated with cryptocurrencies because, apart of being the technology that sustains them, was born with the first virtual currency in history in 2009, Bitcoin. In this case, the data added to the blockchain is public and can be consulted at any time by network users.
However, it is important to remember that cryptocurrencies They are just that, coins! As is the case with the euro, the dollar or any type of paper money. each one is a simple material with a printed value, but what allows its use and generates value are the economic laws that support.
Something similar happens with virtual currencies. In this case, it is the blockchain technology that allows its
functioning. Its main objective is to create a unchangeable log of everything that happens on the chain of blocks, so we talk about a safe and secure system transparent.
Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) or any other cryptocurrency is simply a virtual currency built on the blockchain and used to send or receive the amount of money each participant has. Is technology is the one that maintains publicly registered transactions, but maintaining the identity of the anonymous participants.
However, although it was created to store the history of Bitcoin operations, over the years it has identified great potential for application in other areas and sectors due to the possibilities it offers.
Characteristics of blockchain technology
The progress of this system has been unknown since its inception. origin, but little by little we are getting to know more details of its operation:
Security
Cryptography is a fundamental pillar in the operation of the blockchain, which provides
security of the data stored in the system, as well as in the information shared between the nodes of the net. When we are going to make a transaction, we need a set of valid asymmetric keys in order to carry it out on the blockchain. It is also known as public key cryptography.
Confidence
By representing a shared record of events, this Technology builds trust in users. And not only that, but it eliminates the possibility of manipulation by of hackers and generates a ledger of operations to which all members of the network can access.
Immutability
When information is added to the database distributed, it is practically impossible to modify it Thanks to asymmetric cryptography and the functions of hash, an accounting record can be implemented distributed that guarantees security. In addition, it allows reach consensus on data integrity between network participants without having to resort to to an entity that centralizes the information.
Transparency
It is one of the basic requirements to build trust. In blockchain, transparency is achieved by doing public the code of the software to execute the chain, as well as generating a community of nodes that apply it. Its application in different activities, such as chains of supply, allows the traceability of the product from The origin.
Traceability
Allows knowledge of all operations carried out, as well as the review of the transactions made at a specific time. Traceability is a procedure that makes it possible to follow the evolution of a product in each of its stages, as well as who, how, When and where has it been intervened on? This is One of the main reasons why many sectors are beginning to apply the technology blockchain.
3 keys to understand how the blockchain works
You are one step away from knowing everything about the blockchain. Nowthat you already know its definition and the main features and related terms, it’s time to Put everything you’ve learned together to find out how it works.
Networks use data exchange technology peer-to-peer to connect different users that they share information. That is, the data is not centralized in a central system, but shared for all network users. In the moment in wich a transaction is made, it is recorded as a block of data transmitted to all parties for the purpose of be validated.
The transaction is the movement of an asset and the block can record the information you choose, from what,
who, when, to where, how much and how. Each block is connects the previous and posterior ones forming a chain
(blockchain), as a kind of indelible record. Each additional block reinforces the verification of the above and eliminates the possibility of being tampered with. Finally, the transaction is done.
The structure of the blocks
The chain stores a lot of information, which allows to grow over time. This is the which is why it has been necessary to create mechanisms for Efficient consultation without the need to download the entire information: the Merkle hash tree.
It is a tree data structure that allows that a large number of separate data can relate to a single hash value, which
provides a very efficient verification method in the contents of large information structures.
Generation of the blockchains
First of all, it is a decentralized process. And for this, a distributed consensus is needed in the that the nodes have the ability to generate valid data. Users must become nodes within the system to be able to issue new operations. If what you want is become miners and create blocks, then they must compete with others. The validation process is based in asymmetric cryptography, with a public key and another private. Transactions issued are validated by
the nodes in the new mined block, as well as their correct link to the previous block (must contain the hash).
The most common uses of the blockchain
“But if this technology was created for operations with cryptocurrencies”.
That’s right, but the passage of time, research and social needs have seen great potential in this technology to be applied in other areas:
Voting systems
Some states like West Virginia are launching electronic voting through the blockchain, although it is still a framework to regulate. Without However, you don’t have to go that far. after the past elections to the Madrid Assembly, as well as the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions on mobility and the gathering of people, have raised the introduction of electronic voting with blockchain. Their traceability and immutability make it a system very attractive for voting. It would not only increase transparency and reliability, but could audit in real time.
Smart Contracts
They are programs that allow to fulfill and execute agreements registered between the parties automatically. They can be applied in any type of transaction wherever A registered agreement is required, such as a deposit of
guarantee or the contracting of a product, among others. Among its main characteristics we find: autorun and immutability.
Supply chain
Supervision and follow-up in supply chains food, as well as in production is one of the main applications raised with blockchain. Some examples of this technology in the industry food and agriculture are: Walmart China, with the food production incorporated by IBM; wave Australian company AgriDigital, which works with distributed accounting, blockchain and Smart contracts.
It is not what has already been done, but what is yet to come. At Occam Digital Agency, as a development company blockchain, we are convinced that it is not just of programming, but of analyzing the needs of the customer and design a unique user experience.
Tokenization of real estate and assets
Thanks to the transparency of the blockchain, the asset tokenization is revolutionizing sectors traditional as investment in real estate democratizing their purchase.
This breaks the barrier of investing in more insurance, since, until now, if you wanted to buy a property, you had to do it by yourself or with a very reduced number of people. Thanks to tokenization, now you can buy a flat between 100, 200, 1000 people making a small contribution.
This also allows you to diversify and minimize risk, being able to invest €100 in various properties.
It is very important to choose a development company blockchain that has developed a project
using this technology, since it is about complex developments and with very little documentation in
internet that helps developers.
How to do a good blockchain development?
We invite you to take note of the necessary steps for the Blockchain Development:
1 – Briefing
The first thing to do is a briefing between both parts. The client provides the information of the model of business, and the blockchain development company offers the expertise to design the platform using the
most optimal technology.
It is very important to choose well the technologies that are going to use, since in blockchain each transaction has a cost. Depending on the chosen blockchain, it can cost between €10 or €0.0001 each.
It is also important that the development company blockchain design which parts of the platform should function to have a balanced security system, adequate user experience and costs per use and adapted to the business model proposed by the client.
For example, if you want to develop a platform for tokenize real estate and that investors can buy tokens of these, the most recommended is that all the functionality related to the purchase or investment is build on blockchain technology, and the rest of functionalities do it in the traditional way. This way, you will get a good user experience, a great security in purchases and low costs.
Design phase
Once the briefing is over, we move on to the design phase. With the briefing in hand, the time has come for the
UX and UI experts get to work. With the information collected, you must design a platform with a great user experience and friendly interface to transmit confidence to the user and allow him to operate in a very simple way. In this way, you will avoid frustration and abandonment on the platform.
Development
When the platform is designed, the team of development begins to program all the functionalities defined in the briefing and to layout the platform as is defined in the design.
This is the phase that takes the longest, since in this moment we are turning the idea into something real. Here we went from the plans to reality, to create the platform that users will use.
In addition, in a blockchain development it is necessary to take into account all the components of a traditional development (Database, Backend, API, FrontEnd…) added to the blockchain components (SmartContracts, Gas, the blockchain to use….), so it is a job in the you have to have high precision.
Testing
Now that we have the platform, we are going to test it, test it among several people: the developers, the
client, the blockchain development company, etc.
The more participants there are, the better. let’s find out small bugs and surely some lack not found in the design and that, at the moment of using it, we need solve. For example, a manual on how to invest, what steps must be taken within the platform, a pop-up that notify us of any extra configuration, etc.
Deployment
Once the testing is finished, we move on to the deployment. We select the optimal server for operation of the platform in order to adapt it to the resources that the customer can consume. Now, we go from working in the test blockchain to the mainnet. That is, the actual environment.
What types of evidence blockchains exist?
There are a large number of blockchains. and with them, test blockchain.
For example, the Bitcoin testing blockchain is called Tesnet, but there are others like Ethereum that have various test chains such as Robsten, Kovan, Rinkeby, Goerly.
They all work the same way, so we can use whatever we want. In this case, as the most important functionality provided by this technology, from a development point of view, they are the Smart Contracts, we are going to focus on Ethereum and talk about Robsten.
When we are developing Smart Contracts, it is going to be It takes thousands of tests to prove that
everything is as planned. We can’t use a real blockchain, since the cost would skyrocket and not would make no sense, since the evidence blockchains They will give us the same.
What public blockchains are often used for develop platforms?
A blockchain development company must be able to use:
Ethereum
Binance
SmartChain
xDAI
Each of these has its advantages and disadvantages.
