In what kind of world do we want to live?

Dare to dream of a world where everybody has a say - a world where we can collaborate successfully without knowing each other. A world where business is carried out securely and transparently exposing corruption, fraud, and inefficiencies. A world where empowered individuals control their data and their destinies.

Blockchain has been invented as an answer to this dream and proposes technical solutions to many of today’s challenges.

How does it work (light version)?

A blockchain is a database that can store any type of information and transactions. Participants can add content but cannot go back and change the history. You can think of a chat group where every participant can add a message. If one participant drops, all others still have a copy of the data. Everybody sees the messages in real-time. The entire history of messages can be fully reconstructed. Blockchain can do the same for more complex transactions in a way more sophisticated shape and form.

In the blockchain, participants can add information that builds the blocks. The chain part of blockchain comes from the fact that the blocks are connected to each other.

In a blockchain, there is no corporation operating the network. Instead the group participants keep the network and its data alive. This makes a blockchain decentralized.

If somebody tries to falsify the data, other participants will notice it quickly and dismiss the manipulated version. This makes a blockchain immutable.

Individuals own their data, not corporations. Participants in the network can view data only if they have a special decryption key granted by the data owner. This makes a blockchain highly secure. Data privacy is ensured.

There are no entry barriers, and everybody can participate without any approvals required. This makes a blockchain truly inclusive.

Participants define in advance what good behaviour looks like and code it into the blockchain. Participants with special equipment (miners) monitor the behaviour on the blockchain, incentivize behaviour according to the rules, and sanction behaviour not observing the rules.

In a nutshell, blockchain is a solution that can improve both our private and our professional lives and open the door for new business models.