A revolution is quietly brewing within the technology landscape all over the world and has the potential to impact India in a positive way. In this article, we are going to discuss the use cases of Blockchain in India and how various industries are set to benefit from this fintech revolution.
Before we do that, it is important to dive deep into blockchain technology to understand what is blockchain, how is blockchain different from bitcoin, the different types of blockchains and the application areas of blockchain in India.
What is Blockchain?
Blockchain is nothing but a digital distributed ledger of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoins which can effectively trace the origin of ownership of every transaction right from issuance to that of the current owner. It is available in the form of a list of records which is securely encrypted using cryptography.
Leading Proponents of Blockchain Technology
“We are extremely excited about the potential of blockchain to change how the Internet is governed,” said Naspers CEO Bob van Dijk, in a recent interview to ET Tech.
"What the internet did for communications, I think Blockchain will do for trusted transactions." - IBM CEO Ginny Rometty.
“Bitcoin is exciting because it shows how cheap it can be. Bitcoin is better than currency in that you don’t have to be physically in the same place and, of course, for large transactions, currency can get pretty inconvenient.” – Microsoft Founder Bill Gates
Bitcoin vs. Blockchain
Barring the well-informed TechGig readers, the terms blockchain and bitcoin get used interchangeably a lot. It is important to understand that “bitcoin” is a form of cryptocurrency while “blockchain” is the underlying technology behind this popular digital currency of the new world.
Types of Blockchain
Public Blockchain – One of the most important distinctions between a private blockchain and public blockchain pertains to who all can participate. A public blockchain is a network that anyone in the world can access, can send transactions to, and even participate in the consensus process which is the process to determine what blocks get added to the chain. Large amount of computation power is required for a Public Blockchain to work effectively and this is one of the biggest deterrents in implementing such a peer-to-peer network.
Permissioned Blockchain – Participants in such a blockchain network need an invitation to participate. An access control layer is used to determine who gets access to a permissioned network. One advantage of such a blockchain network is that certain users with nefarious intentions such as scammers can be blacklisted from the network.
Private Blockchain – Data Security and Privacy are two of the biggest reasons for private blockchain to find favour. For anyone to enter a private blockchain environment, there are a set of rules that need to be adhered to or one needs an invitation from the creator of the network. In the truest sense of the word, a private blockchain is therefore not decentralized and can merely be referred as a distributed ledger.