5 Facts About the Blockchain and Its Opportunities

A myth almost always happens when people do not understand or interpret something badly. From this point of view, the Blockchain offers a lot of material for the myths, because the technology is really not easy to understand.

In order to be able to accurately determine the potential of this technology, it is useful to know what is at the core of the following five myths about the Blockchain.

1. The Blockchain is a database and a huge decentralized computer

This is not correct: from the point of view of the result, the Blockchain is a (long) list of transactions. Compared to a database, Blockchain is distinguished by the traceability of actions. On the contrary, a database is characterized by its availability and its performances, which is not the strong point of the Blockchain.

Computers that basically do the same thing: they check the same transactions in the Blockchain and save the history in the list. So it’s not the shared computing power that matters, but the decentralized organization. It is exactly this last point which is one of the biggest strengths of the Blockchain, because if all computers perform identical tasks, namely to save a list hundreds or thousands of times, it becomes almost impossible, thanks to the system, hack or manipulate it.

2. The Blockchain is thirsty for energy

This myth is not entirely true: the technology itself is not energy efficient. Energy consumption depends on the type of Blockchain used: Distributed Public Blockchain or Private Blockchain.

On the energy front, a private Blockchain can function much more efficiently than a distributed Public Blockchain. In addition, the consensus method used or Proof-of-Work Protocol plays a role. This is an energy-consuming method because it requires computing power, even when bitcoin cryptocurrency is used. Some suppliers, however, want to switch in the future on the mining process Proof-of-Stake (PoS), less energy consuming.

3. The Blockchain is safe and reliable

This myth is not easy to prove or refute: the transactions stored in the Blockchain are, according to all current knowledge, safe, because no one can modify entries after the fact, that is to say falsify or delete them.