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Considering Blockchain as a Viable Option for Your Next Database — Part 1

The blockchain is an evolving technology that is the work of high minds from the fields of cryptography, information technology, mathematics, business, and finance. Many technologies today that we take for granted now were considered unthinkable in the past: steam engines, steamboats, and airplanes revolutionized global transportation, while the replacement of gold with paper currency revolutionized the financial world. Smartphones changed our communication and the way we entertain ourselves, while digital marketing services in the USA and elsewhere have altered how consumers make purchasing decisions. As we move towards the realization of the “Internet of things (IoT),” Blockchain could have an even more significant impact on businesses, society, government and everything in between.

Are you considering the various options available as the basis for your database? Then you may be having trouble deciding between a traditional database or a Blockchain database. This article will provide an overview of Blockchain and its potential uses for you. However, before we look at the pros and cons of each approach, let’s take a quick look at the history of Blockchain.


Blockchain Version 0: Bitcoin

The idea of utilizing timestamps and blocks, preventing data and documents from being tampered with, dates back to 1991 with the work of S. Haber and W. Stornetta. However, the real hype around the idea of Blockchain started with the seminal whitepaper by an unknown person calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008.

In this paper, Nakamoto described the functioning of a possible peer-to-peer, decentralized public ledger that now forms the basis for the trustless electronic cash, Bitcoin. Nakamoto launched Bitcoin on January 3, 2009, when they mined the first block for themselves. Since then the currency’s value has skyrocketed with the current market capitalization valued over $115 billion.

Put simply; Bitcoin is a digital currency which relies upon Blockchain (Read more...)

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from InfoSec Resources authored by Hannah George. Read the original post at: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/infosecResources/~3/R45IFGZLRjE/