Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Issue 565 The Block Chain April 8, 2015

The Block Chain is a form of encryption used by Bitcoin.  It basically acts as a ledger for the electronic currency (five billion dollars or equivalent if hacked).  However, this form of encryption is impossible to shut down as you would have to shut the internet itself down to do it.  And I am going to attempt to explain why and its other potential uses.

My understanding: So this software is shared between all the people who use and operate with bitcoins.  As such, it uses a near endless number of computers to operate the system.  So to actually hack the Block Chain, which is already encrypted in the first place, you would need to hack every computer associated with Bitcoin.  The principle behind it is that this decentralized approach protects the Bitcoin system and thus makes it impossible to hack as you would need an almost equal amount of hackers to hack in.  So all that data is essentially safe.  

Potential uses:  The Block Chain works on the understanding that encryption equals freedom.  And the network of computers that use it can actually send information in an untraceable and untraceable way.  This is because the decentralized network bounces the information and shares it amongst all the users at once.  As such, a person in the most hostile dictatorship with the strictest form of censorship can upload data on to the Block Chain and be safe from reprisals.  All of this is due to its decentralized nature.  So China, North Korea, the United States and others can no longer censor their people and the world can have whistleblowers and activists speak without fear.


Conclusion:  The Block Chains potential is amazing.  It can protect not just Bitcoins financial data, but all data and make it impossible to steal.  So I look forward to what impact this technology will have on the future of the internet.

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