Blockchain Technology - What is it? Part 2

Many believe this to be a new technology, however it is a combination of existing proven technologies applied in a new way.

Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto saw the internet, private key cryptography and a protocol governing incentivisation combining in such a way as to create a system for digital interactions without the need for a trusted third party.

TRUST is a risk judgement between different parties which in the digital world often boils down to providing identity [authentication] and proving permissions [authorisation].

In other words, "are you who you say you are?" and "should you be able to do what you are trying to do?".

Private key cryptography affords a powerful tool of ownership that satisfies authentication requirements. Possession of a private key is ownership. It also saves a person from having to share more personal information than is absolutely necessary for an exchange, reducing or eliminating exposure to hackers.

Authentication on its own is insufficient; authorisation needs a distributed, peer to peer network as a starting point. This reduces the risk of centralised corruption or failure.

Authentication and authorisation facilitates digital world interactions without relying on [expensive] trust.

This can be applied to any need for a trustworthy system of record and has captured the imaginations of governments, IT firms and banks.

It is the future. The future is now.

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