Since 1944, every 10 years, a major innovation changes everything.
There was the first computer in 1944, the first mainframe in 1954, the first minicomputer in 1964, the first personal computer in 1974, the Macintosh in 1984, the Web with Netscape in 1994, social networks in 2004. And now we have the Internet of ME with Blockchain of Things — BoT.
Blockchain can be defined as the decentralized and comprehensive history of all transactions since its inception and which are recorded in a large ledger.
The transaction security is ensured by a network of computers that validate and certify the transaction before entering it permanently in a block. Once registered, it is tamper-proof and easily verifiable. So this is a distributed network in which the transactions are in peer to peer (P2P).
The main advantage of blockchain is that people can trust them without the intervention of a “trusted third party” (lawyers, bank, State, platform types like Uber, AirBnB, etc.). This intermediary function is ensured by a network of computers. In other words, the blockchain is an Internet transaction certification infrastructure.
The main advantage of blockchain is to enable people to trust them without the intervention of a “trusted third party”
The technology can be used for transactions that go beyond a mere payment or registration and contain even more complex instructions (conditional and programmed instructions), then we talk about contracts. These contracts are published on a blockchain that they run automatically under certain conditions, which is why we use the term ‘Smart Contracts “.
The stakes are enormous. All players involved in intermediation; banks, insurers, notaries, lawyers, etc. are concerned. It is a market of several trillion dollars that we must re-invent!
The success of the IoT (Internet of Things) goes into effect by the blockchain and its algorithmic trust system with a distributed infrastructure. Remember that with blockchain, the fact that a transaction is accepted or rejected is the result of a distributed consensus and not a centralized institution. In other words, the consensus-as-a-service (consensus on demand) or TAAS (Trust as a Service) is the heart of the economic model of blockchain.
With the Internet of Things, the blockchain protocol will find one of its broader applications, given the huge problems of trust that are sure to arise. Trust, the question of identity, respect for privacy and confidentiality of personal data will be at the heart of market development of the Internet of Things.
In other words, the blockchain technology will become the infrastructure of a globally interconnected digital world and massively including the Wearable Computing, IoT, sensors, smart phones, laptops, and cameras, the Smart Home, the Smart Car and even SmartCity.
Will tomorrow’s world blockchain or not?
Originally published at Pulse Ghana on March 27, 2016.