The blockchain is an area that is being exploited to the maximum today. This has allowed new techniques to emerge, as well as various services around these tasks. Engineering professionals are a vital part of the blockchain process. For this reason, they are constantly trained to understand the market and its constant changes entirely. The characteristics of the blockchain and its environment are variable and changing, so it is necessary to anticipate various situations concerning it.
Blockchain technology presents a series of characteristics that allow information to be managed securely and traceable, providing transparency and privacy to the participants. These characteristics are fascinating in the business environment and allow companies to improve some of the existing business processes and define new business models based on collaborative environments supported by blockchain technology. The following sections discuss the main characteristics associated with blockchain technology.
Security
Cryptography is an essential element in blockchain technology. Thus, providing security over the information stored in the blockchain and the information shared between the network nodes. To operate on the network, it is necessary to have a set of valid asymmetric keys to operate on the corresponding blockchain.
Not all blockchains use the same asymmetric key format. In a blockchain, all transactions are signed by the issuer's private key. The public key that allows verifying the content of the transaction is included within each transaction, thereby detecting if the transaction has been tampered with. Hash functions are elements that provide security to the blockchain. These allow the generation of unique identifiers of the content of the blocks.
These block identifiers interconnect the blocks, offering a mechanism to identify alterations in the chain. The blocks and transactions are validated by the entire network of nodes, providing security over the information incorporated into the blockchain. Security lies in the ability of the nodes to detect data modifications quickly, rejecting the transaction or the block.
Traceability
This is one of the characteristics that is very interesting from an audit perspective. Blockchain allows you to go through the chain of blocks and trace all the operations carried out on a specific address or go back in time and review the transactions made on a specific date by exploring all the blocks generated on the indicated date.
Query operations are not stored on the blockchain, so they are not auditable by querying the blockchain. Each node responds to the information query sent to it, as this query is not registered in the chain. Therefore, it is impossible to know all the queries that are made in all the nodes. All consolidated transactions are stored in the blockchain.
This chain is constantly growing in size and is entirely stored by many nodes that make up the blockchain network. This feature of blockchain makes all the processed information traceable, being able to consult all the operations carried out using a blockchain explorer.
Privacy
This characteristic is typical of public blockchains, where the blockchain addresses are not linked to the identities of the people who control each of the blockchain addresses. To operate on a public blockchain, it is necessary to have the public and private key pair that allows you to control the blockchain address.
The operation that allows generating the set of keys and the address of a blockchain is a simple process that is carried out using mathematical functions and can be executed from the software of the blockchain solution (bitcoin, ethereum, etc.) or on the internet using the service provided by companies that allow operations on blockchain such as exchange houses.
The process that allows generating the keys and the address does not require any personal data, so the address and the keys are not associated with the identity of the person who creates the address. Therefore, this mechanism to provide a blockchain address provides privacy when operating within the blockchain network. The transactions are associated with an address and signed with a key that does not have associated data on the person's identity carrying out the transaction.
This blockchain feature is not available in all distributions since a prior identification is required to operate on a blockchain network. Privacy is one of the main characteristics of the public blockchain and another reason for the success of blockchain in its early days. However, since some people used this privacy to carry out operations considered illegal, this is one of the reasons that made some countries reject the use of blockchain as a means of payment.
Transparency
Transparency in the blockchain is achieved by publishing the rules with which the operation of the blockchain is defined. This is achieved by making public the code of the software necessary to execute the blockchain and generating a community of nodes and blockchain developers who follow this principle of transparency.
Confidence
Confidence in the operation of the blockchain is the characteristic that makes two people who do not trust each other carry out a transaction on the blockchain.
Blockchain Address
To operate on the blockchain, it is necessary to have an address. A blockchain address is a unique identifier with a specific size built starting from the public key and applying certain hash functions. In the case of Bitcoin, the result is an alphanumeric identifier that has a maximum of 35 characters. In Ethereum, the address begins with "0x" followed by 40 hexadecimal characters.
Examples of addresses:
Bitcoin: 127NVqnjf8gB9BFAW2dnQeM6wqmy1gb Gtv
Ethereum: 0xFAc399E49F5B6867AF186390270 AF252E683b154
As seen in the example addresses, each blockchain establishes a different format or size for the address. In this case, Bitcoin addresses are not compatible with Ethereum addresses, which means that an Ethereum address cannot carry out a Bitcoin transaction.
The Professional In Blockchain Characteristics
Blockchain has become a common practice in modern times. The birth of various currencies is part of the new economies, and those who enter this world must have extensive knowledge in the area. For this reason, professionals from various areas seek to train in these areas adequately and comprehensively. Hyperlink InfoSystem can assist you with the development of an excellent blockchain solution.
