Well, its the buzzing technology of the moment, i've looked everywhere in Wazua to see if there's any thread on blockchain technology (not bitcoin) and I found none. So how about we share what we know or think we do know.

What is Block Chain Technology?

Blockchain is a decentralized database system. Ledgers that store transaction data, are distributed across many nodes. Its the technology that enables Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to be exchanged. Invented in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto(not a known person, could be a group of people or just a pseudo) as a transaction ledger for Bitcoin.

On a fundamental level, a blockchain is simply:

A distributed ledger that prevents users from illegitimately editing past entries or counting the same object twice.
A decentralized solution that avoids awarding system control to any small group of actors.

Types of blockchain platforms:

A) Public
Anyone in the world can read, anyone in the world can send transactions to and expect to see them included if they are valid, and anyone can participate in the consensus process for determining what blocks get added to the chain and what the current state is.


B) Private
Blockchain where write permissions are kept Centralized to one organization. Read permissions may be public or restricted to an arbitrary extent. Likely applications include database management, auditing, etc internal to a single company, and so public readability may not be necessary in many cases at all

C) Consortium (combi of both)
Blockchain where the consensus process is controlled by a pre-selected set of nodes; for example, one might imagine a consortium of 8 financial institutions, each of which operates a node and of which 5 must sign every block in order for the block to be valid.
The right to read the blockchain may be public, or restricted to the participants.

So the big question, what problem is blockchain technology trying to solve?

It is well known that for any new technology to succeed, it must solve an existing problem 10X more than the next available solution.

Bitcoin was created to solve the problem of govts printing fiat money so as to bail out struggling economies.

What stands out (for me) is the proof of ownership aspect in blockchain technology which is could be great in tracking transfer of property such as land, shares, cars, contracting services etc without the risk of editing documentation as it is currently. The tracking of unique digital assets on a decentralized ledger is a very big plus, however.. looking at the private and consortium types of blockchain technology, dont they look like centralized databases with shared rights?

Again what is blockchain technology solving?

Agreed @Ash Ock....but beyond solving property ownership/distribution trust issues, what else stands out for Blockchain technology?

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977

Cornelius, we're at the beginning.



Here's a good article: 35 Amazing Real World Examples Of How Blockchain Is Changing Our World

A good place to start would be at a personal level. We are all inherently selfish and would like to know what it can do for me, before 'do for us'!

Key questions, as someone brought up a pre-computer age quote.
What computer resources are needed? Hardware and software.. Do you need a super computer or some cutting edge software?
What (new) knowledge is needed as an end user? Is it like Oracle where you need to know basic programming language?
Internet is the closest thing.... How does it compare? Maybe with internet you can begin to understand blockchain. Can you have one without the other?
Coins, tokens, contracts... what is the link between the 'money' bit and the development bit? Do we need the money bit?

With my limited and primitive understanding of blockchain, I think it can be useful in property/land registries nd maybe in voting-maveges can expound on this-, verifying payments etc only if the energy and time taken to verify a transaction is improved.

We celebrate all Kenyans making it big out there.

Congratulations Margaret Nyamumbo

www.forbes.com/sites/meg...n-that-deserves-the-buzz