Blockchain, new technology about to change world

CAIRO – 21 December 2017: Blockchain appears to be a new breakthrough technology in its infancy which has recently popped up everywhere on the internet. However, the reality is that blockchain is a technology that has been around since 2009, when the anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto conceptualized and implemented blockchain as a core component of Bitcoin. Since then, as shown in the Google Trends graphs below, interest in the technology has grown exponentially and is predicted to grow in the same pace.




Blockchain is a distributed, append-only, immutable ledger, which simply means that it is a ledger existing on a network and stored on all the computers of that network and can only be added to but not changed or edited. All the computers on the network have an updated copy of that ledger and it can only be appended with a consensus according to the blockchain protocol. Since the ledger is distributed, security in and trust of the system increased because the control is with the many not with the few. The purpose of this technology is to enable trade between people and entities directly, by cutting out the middle man such as institutions and banks. This is enabled by the trust that is inherent to the blockchain protocol.



Blockchain is important because within the next decade, it will have revolutionized the way of dealing with money and trade. Blockchain eliminates the need for a trusted third party to negotiate or moderate transaction, they can happen peer-to-peer. For example, musicians could post their songs on a blockchain application and specify how they want their song to be used and it would be free to the public directly, without a large corporation eating up their revenue. One person could transfer money from their ‘account’ to their friend’s without having to go through a bank. The World Economic Forum predicted that by 2025, 10% of global GDP will be stored in blockchain technology, according to a report published in September 2015.

There are endless possibilities and applications to this new disruptive technology and they will gradually become more popular as an increasing number of people grasp the revolutionary idea of blockchain. In the coming decades, this technology could change entire industries.