6:00 AM
Paul B
While many people are looking at the cryptocurrency boom as a way to make money by transferring their heavily inflated fiat currency, like the dollar, into Bitcoins or one of the many alt-coins available, others are looking at innovative ways of using blockchain technology in general.
If you haven't heard of the term blockchain, Wikipedia describes it as:
...a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography. Each block typically contains a hash pointer as a link to a previous block, a timestamp and transaction data. By design, blockchains are inherently resistant to modification of the data. The Harvard Business Review describes it as "an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way." For use as a distributed ledger, a blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks, which requires collusion of the network majority.
Blockchains are secure by design and are an example of a distributed computing system with high Byzantine fault tolerance. Decentralized consensus has therefore been achieved with a blockchain. This makes blockchains potentially suitable for the recording of events, medical records, and other records management activities, such as identity management, transaction processing, documenting provenance, food traceability or voting.
The first blockchain was conceptualized in 2008 by an anonymous person or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto and implemented in 2009 as a core component of bitcoin where it serves as the public ledger for all transactions. The invention of the blockchain for bitcoin made it the first digital currency to solve the double spending problem without the need of a trusted authority or central server. The bitcoin design has been the inspiration for other applications.One interest method of using blockchain that I recently discovered is in the use of capital investment for startup companies! The company I discovered doing this is called Chainium.
Check out their video:
From their page:
Our beliefs – we believe the equity market needs to be disrupted – We stand for any business who wants to raise capital to grow. We stand for any investor who wants to buy shares in businesses they believe in.
Our technology – we love blockchain – It’s enabled us to create a distributed database solution that replaces the many complex, inefficient, manual processes used in the equity market today.
Our people – we’ve been around the block – We’ve worked together for 15+ years in global equity markets with hands-on experience of blockchain, data security and financial regulation. We’re disrupting a market we know well.
Our plan – we’re serious – We’re working with the regulators, we’ve built a working prototype, we have a proven track record of delivering global technology projects and we have a realistic roadmap for 2018 delivery.You can read their whitepaper here (Chainium Technical Whitepaper).
If you are looking to start a business, but have struggled getting the capital you need to get your ideas off the ground, this may just be the ticket to your new venture's success.
What do you think about this? Do you think blockchain technology will continue to transform technologies in other markets? Let us know what you think in the comments!
