The blockchain was initially introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin, as a time-chain concept. Bitcoin transactions would be created and validated in a decentralized, peer-to-peer network and stored in a public ledger, which was later called “the blockchain”. 

This distributed database where transactions get stored is what Satoshi referred to as time-chain or a chain of time-stamped blocks of transactions.

The most interesting features of blockchain technology are security and decentralization. Simply put, a blockchain allows users to send, receive, and store transactions in a time-stamped, public, open, and permissionless distributed database. These transactions are grouped together in blocks. Since blocks are hashed and linked together in chronological order, to alter the transactions in one block, an attacker would have to alter all subsequent blocks.

Therefore, blockchain technology seems to be an amazing and useful upgrade to distributed ledger...

Blockchain is on the lips of everyone, from individuals to institutions these days. Analysts are calling the advent of blockchain (together with other cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, internet of things and virtual reality) the fourth industrial revolution. However, exactly what is blockchain? This article breaks it all down in a comprehensive “what is the blockchain 101” report.

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies 

Blockchain is perhaps most well-known as the technology that underpins Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. One should note that blockchain technology has wide-reaching applications that extend far beyond cryptocurrencies. However, the advent of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies did help blockchain technology gain more widespread exposure.

All of these different terms can be somewhat confusing, so we’re going to break it down. Cryptocurrencies are a type of medium of exchange, or means of payment. As such,...