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.
100% yes. I’m excited to see if the insurance and medical industries adopt the blockchain. Unlikely, but I think we get there someday. Would really solve the issues where records are contained in different systems and therefore not accessible to everyone.
Personally I think no, blockchain will not take the world over as far as ledgers and transparency. Not because it might be better or worse, but due to peoples (and companies) greed. Transparency really cuts into profits. It makes it real hard to pay myself $1,200 an hour while I pay employees $15 an hour.
But anyway we hack it. It’s here and it is pushing its way into normal life and tech. Things like Online Domain registry (with blockchain integration) are already available. ICANN is currently working on a transparent Blockchain based Ledger. Web3 might be the breakthrough push. Who will run the Web3 servers/nodes is the big question. Governments? Verizon or AT&T? VISA? Interpol? Who runs it, is almost as scary as what It might do.
A big issue with the medical field, is that drug dealers do not like to share supplier, client and distributer information. Imagine how bad it would look if a Blockchain Ledger showed that the doctors office down the street cuts out 500 Oxycontin prescriptions a week. Then we’d know who supplies the drugs and can tie that to the opiate overdoses per region. Leading right back to our own governments allowance of these practices. Profits would be down.
Government supported death for profit .nnnnnnooooo , (as I light my Federal, State, County and city taxed cigarette)
All valid points the Transparency isnt valued by people at the Top .
Im nit so sure if id want all my details known to everyone via blockchain either ?
I hear ya but the majority of drug overdoses would be from street dealers no ??
Not a big fan of big Pharma but friends of mine that lost their lives via overdose wasnt on OTC prescribed meds it was street drugs , Heroin mostly
well there are very interesting cases where countries have legalised the use of all drugs. this is interesting because the mafia and illegal sex industries dry up over night. and drug use has plummeted thereafter. the true way to win a war on drugs is to legalise them and tax them it would seem.
Its only Portugal and its decriminalised not fully legal some other European countries are proposing it .
Cant find hard data on usuage rates dropping its nuanced . H and Meth Crack etc they cant lend themselves to liberal/recreational use it leads to addiction but Cannabis XTC Cocaine yeah why not