Preface – This post is part of the Blockchain Basics series.

Introduction

We have heard a lot about Blockchain and all the advantages of blockchain. If we jot down some points we will find that the biggest issue that blockchain solves is regarding trust and issues. Well, even real life relationship stands on these pillars. So, in this article we will explore all the pillars that makes a transaction easy, transparent, secure and immutable.

Advantages of Blockchain

Following are the major advantages of blockchain:

Transparency

Once a block is verified, it is added into the blockchain and later available to all the users to view the record (depending upon type of blockchain and authorizations). Suppose, for production of a car, its parts are processed by multiple teams. If each team update their results on the chain, then it can be viewed by other teams too and the current progress can be tracked (and cannot be altered).

Immutability & Data Integrity

Data/Records in the blocks of blockchain are secured by strong cryptographic algorithms. No unauthorized person can access it (without key access). No unauthorized data can be appended to the chain (without being verified by miners/validator). No data can be modified/altered by unauthorized person/malicious party (Merkle tree keeps a track of this). In this way data integrity and immutability is achieved.

Security

With all data encryption, chain to chain validation dependency and complex level of validations make blockchain very secure. The example is bitcoin which is in operation from almost a decade and has never been hacked. Strong cryptographic algorithms prevent the Blockchain architecture from critical exploitable attack vectors.