what is blockchain
The blockchain is a multi-node joint participation and common confirmation accounting system. The ledger is composed of a series of data blocks. The next data block records the hash of the previous data. All blocks form a complete block in order. data link. Each node has completely consistent ledger data, and the recorded data cannot be tampered with or forged. This chain is saved in all servers, as long as one server in the whole system can work, the whole blockchain is safe.
Origin of blockchain
The blockchain originated from Bitcoin. On November 1, 2008, a person who claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto published the article "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System", explaining that it is based on P2P network technology and encryption technology. , time stamp technology, blockchain technology and other electronic cash system architecture concepts, which marks the birth of Bitcoin. Two months later, the theory entered practice, and on January 3, 2009, the first genesis block with serial number 0 was born. A few days later, on January 9, 2009, a block with serial number 1 appeared, and was connected with the genesis block with serial number 0 to form a chain, marking the birth of the blockchain.
Classification of blockchain
According to the nature of ownership, blockchain can be divided into the following three categories
公有链: Refers to the blockchain that can be read by anyone in the world, anyone can send transactions and transactions can be effectively confirmed, and anyone can participate in the consensus process私有链: Refers to the blockchain whose write permission is only in the hands of one organization, and the entire chain operates within the organization联盟链: Refers to the blockchain jointly controlled by several organizations. Nodes jointly participate in the consensus, joint management, and the joining of nodes and users has its own specific rules.
Features of Blockchain
去中心化: Blockchain technology does not rely on additional third-party management agencies or hardware facilities, and there is no central control. Except for the self-contained blockchain itself, through distributed accounting and storage, each node realizes self-verification, transmission and management of information. Decentralization is the most prominent and essential feature of blockchain开放性: The foundation of blockchain technology is open source. In addition to the encryption of the private information of all parties to the transaction, the data of the blockchain is open to everyone. Anyone can query the blockchain data and develop related applications through the public interface. Therefore, The entire system information is highly transparent独立性: Based on consensus-based specifications and protocols (similar to various mathematical algorithms such as the hash algorithm adopted by Bitcoin), the entire blockchain system does not rely on other third parties, and all nodes can automatically and securely verify and exchange data within the system, without no human intervention required安全性: As long as the data of most nodes cannot be controlled, the network data cannot be manipulated and modified arbitrarily, which makes the blockchain itself relatively safe, avoids subjective and artificial data changes, and makes it impossible to change the data匿名性: Technically speaking, the identity information of each block node does not need to be disclosed or verified, and information transmission can be anonymous. According to the requirements of some laws and regulations, some chains, especially alliance chain information, may need to be disclosed to certain parts
What can blockchain bring us
Our traditional systems are all based on a centralized system. In layman’s terms, centralization refers to one or more important levels of leadership speeches, and all other people can only participate in listening, and you cannot interrupt the leadership speech. In the previous portals, various functional systems were centralized. Based on the characteristics of the blockchain, it can bring us the following changes
Disadvantages of centralized systems
- It is easy to be stolen, and it is easy to be attacked and tampered with
- Troublesome personal access to proof, lack of basis for trust between parties
Decentralization will help us solve the following pain points
- Decentralized data storage, safe and tamper-proof
- Nodes are equal, and smart contracts make asset transfers more transparent and traceable, helping us increase mutual trust
- Reduce maintenance costs. Compared with centralized systems, blockchain saves the cost of confidentiality, operation and maintenance, backup, etc., because each node records the same things, and node errors can be corrected immediately
Technologies involved in blockchain
The blockchain is essentially a database, and the data stored in it has the characteristics of "unforgeable, traceable, open and traceable", which also makes it possible to create more reliable cooperation and is widely researched and used , so the blockchain is closely related to the following technologies
Distributed storage technology
P2P technology, this technology depends on users and bandwidth, no longer depends on a small number of servers. This ensures the efficiency, reliability and security of data storage and effectively prevents a single point of system crash
Cryptography
Among them, very famous technologies include asymmetric encryption technology and hash algorithm. In this asymmetric encryption technology, different keys are used for encryption and decryption. The public key is used for encryption, and the private key is used for decryption, which ensures the security of user information and improves efficiency.
Hash algorithm, also known as hash algorithm. The hash algorithm can convert information into binary with higher efficiency, and can also ensure the security of information.
smart contract
A smart contract is a computer protocol designed to communicate, verify or enforce contracts in an informational manner. Smart contracts allow for trusted transactions without third parties, which are traceable and irreversible. Smart contracts run in a virtual machine (similar to a sandbox mechanism). At present, more mature virtual machines include EVM and WASM, and there are also virtual machines that are different from virtual machines and implemented through Docker classes, such as fabric.
At present, the main implementation language of smart contracts is solidity, in addition to c++, fabric has three languages: c++, java, python
consensus mechanism
This method can confirm the transaction through voting in a very short period of time. The specific operation method is - for a transaction, if several nodes with irrelevant interests can reach a consensus, then the entire network can reach a consensus.
The current consensus algorithms include DPOS, PBFT, POW, etc.
Industry application of blockchain
The blockchain has the characteristics of decentralization, tamper resistance, traceability and intelligence, and has natural advantages in promoting data sharing, optimizing business processes, reducing operating costs, improving collaboration efficiency, and building a trusted system. The characteristics of block chain technology and the existing pain points of various industries, block chain technology has extremely high application value in many fields such as justice, finance, intelligent manufacturing, social welfare, etc. As an important part of the information technology system, it is gradually changing changing our lives.
The financial sector
The blockchain is naturally linked to the financial field, and has potentially huge application value in financial fields such as international exchange, letters of credit, equity registration, and stock exchanges. The application of blockchain technology in the financial industry can eliminate third-party intermediary links and realize point-to-point direct connection, thereby greatly reducing costs and quickly completing transaction payments.
Internet of Things and Logistics
Blockchain can also be naturally combined in the field of Internet of Things and logistics. Through the blockchain, logistics costs can be reduced, the production and delivery process of items can be traced, and the efficiency of supply chain management can be improved. In this field, product traceability is the most important application.
public service
The blockchain is closely related to the production and life of the people in the fields of public management, energy, transportation, etc., but the centralized nature of these fields has also brought some problems, which can be transformed with the blockchain. The decentralized and fully distributed DNS service provided by the blockchain can realize domain name query and resolution through point-to-point data transmission services between nodes in the network, which can be used to ensure that the operating system and firmware of an important infrastructure are not Tampered, it is possible to monitor the status and integrity of the software, detect bad tampering, and ensure that the data transmitted by the system using IoT technology has not been tampered with.
digital rights field
Through blockchain technology, works can be authenticated to prove the existence of text, video, audio and other works to ensure the authenticity and uniqueness of ownership. After the title of the work is confirmed on the blockchain, subsequent transactions will be recorded in real time to realize the full life cycle management of digital copyright. Due to the irreversible modification and credibility of the data, it can also be used as a technical guarantee in judicial evidence collection.
Insurance field
In terms of insurance claims, insurance institutions are responsible for fund collection, investment, and claims, often with high management and operating costs. Through the application of smart contracts, neither the policyholder's application nor the approval of the insurance company is required. As long as the claim settlement conditions are triggered, the automatic claim settlement of the policy can be realized, which improves the work efficiency and saves the cost of system maintenance.
Public welfare field
The data stored on the blockchain is highly reliable and cannot be tampered with, so it is naturally suitable for social welfare scenarios. Relevant information in the public welfare process, such as donation projects, fundraising details, fund flow, recipient feedback, etc., can be stored on the blockchain, and transparently publicized conditionally to facilitate social supervision.
The Future of Blockchain
current market chain
蚂蚁链
AntChain integrates blockchain, AIOT, intelligent risk control and other technologies, and promotes the democratization of blockchain technology by linking various industrial networks.以太坊公链
Ethereum is an open source public blockchain platform with smart contract functions, providing a decentralized Ethereum virtual machine through its dedicated cryptocurrency Ether to process peer-to-peer contracts. The concept of Ethereum was first proposed by programmer Vitalik Buterin between 2013 and 2014 after being inspired by Bitcoin, roughly meaning "the next generation of cryptocurrency and decentralized application platform", and began to develop through ICO crowdfunding in 2014.至信链
"Zhixin Chain Trusted Evidence Service" is a credible evidence-depositing blockchain service released by Tencent and its ecological partner Beijing Fengtiaolishun Technology Development Co., Ltd., based on the underlying construction of the domestic open source, independent and controllable "Chang'an Chain" technology. More than ten public trust institutions from all walks of life have joined as nodes.
"Zhixinchain Trusted Evidence Service" can provide various trust solutions for the information Internet. Through blockchain technology, it connects the commercial side and the judicial side in the information society, and builds a trusted channel from electronic data to electronic evidence. , to achieve credible storage, safe delivery, and legal use of electronic data.百度超级链
Baidu Super Chain (XuperChain) technology is a block chain technology that Baidu has completely independent intellectual property rights. It has more than 240 patents, involving innovative super node architecture, parallel technology in the chain, reversible side chain technology and parallel chain management. Blockchain underlying technology.
The project has been open source since May 2019. After more than a year of operation, it has always maintained frequent updates and iterations, and has established an active open source community, which has been widely implemented in more than 20 fields such as government affairs, justice, and medical care.京东智臻链
Zhizhen Chain, a blockchain brand under JD Technology, has JD's independent intellectual property rights. It introduces new research results and engineering architecture in data ledgers, consensus protocols, cryptographic algorithms, storage, etc., to solve processing performance and scalability. , scalability, security and other basic and key technical issues, and establish innovative technical architecture and application solutions.趣链
The domestic independent and controllable alliance blockchain underlying platform developed by Qulian Technology can meet the commercial needs of enterprise-level applications in terms of performance, authority, security, privacy, reliability, scalability, and operation and maintenance. The platform is the first batch of blockchain core technology platforms in China that have passed the blockchain standard test of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Institute of Information and Communications Technology and are in line with the national strategic security plan. number one.长安链
Changan Chain·ChainMaker is a new generation of blockchain open source underlying software platform, including the core framework of the blockchain, a rich component library and tool set, and is committed to efficiently and accurately solving the implementation needs of differentiated blockchains for users and building high-performance A new type of digital infrastructure with high credibility and high security.BSC
ETH is currently the leader of the mainstream public chain, and it is the world's largest and most liquid public chain ecosystem; BSC is a blockchain compatible with Ethereum and has smart contract functions. BSC hopes to help projects in the Binance ecosystem to better Build DApps.币安链
Launched in April 2019, Binance Chain is the first public chain in Binance’s dual public chain plan.
In addition to the basic functions of token issuance, use and exchange, Binance Chain also has the characteristics of high throughput and low latency comparable to the centralized system, which is the guarantee of the transaction speed and good experience of the Binance decentralized exchange. Assure.其他链
In addition to the above chains, there are Thunder Chain, Strait Chain, Ancun Alliance Chain, Elastos Chain, Juntu Chain, Public Chain, Hesper Chain, Datang Chain, META Chain, Tianhe Chain and many other chains to promote together Development of blockchain technology
market situation
- According to the outline of the "14th Five-Year Plan", blockchain, as one of the seven key industries of the digital economy in the "14th Five-Year Plan", will promote the added value of the core industries of the digital economy to account for 10% of GDP in 2025. In recent years, the scale of the blockchain market has been growing, from 85 million yuan in 2017 to 561 million yuan in 2020, with an average annual compound growth rate of 87.58%. It is expected to grow to 1.409 billion yuan in 2022.
- Among the blockchain business forms in China, applications accounted for the largest proportion, reaching 36.4%, and solutions ranked second, accounting for 29.8%. Followed by infrastructure, industry services, and underlying platforms, accounting for 12.24%, 11.9%, and 9.56% respectively. These together constitute a complete business form.
- The overall efficiency of my country's supply chain is still relatively low, but the improvement of supply chain process efficiency will undoubtedly be of great significance for accelerating the transformation and upgrading of my country's intelligent manufacturing and Industry 4.0. The supply chain and industrial chain can be reshaped through the blockchain, and it is still in the stage of two-chain integration and three-chain integration as a whole
What challenges does blockchain technology face in the process of application transformation
The reason why the blockchain network is called a value network is that in this network, each participant is carrying the transmission of network value, and the participants involved may include large enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises, and even individuals. Only when multiple parties work towards a common goal can the blockchain better empower cross-enterprise cooperation.
In the process of application, we must work hard to solve the following problems
- Multi-party consensus, joint participation
in the establishment of blockchain ecology needs the first driving force; CCB is the first driving force to develop a trade financing platform; Internet courts apply digital certificate storage platforms, and the court is the first driving force; currently all provinces and cities will The development of blockchain is included in an important aspect of economic development. For example, when Beijing released the blue paper on the application of blockchain in government affairs, it mentioned that blockchain technology has been used in more than 140 scenarios. - Comprehensive understanding and in-depth understanding
General users and enterprise customers may know the technical value of blockchain, but they have not yet fully understood the technical essence and application logic of blockchain. Many users, even large enterprise customers, do not understand the technical principles, standards, scenarios, expansion, chain testing, cross-chain and other professional knowledge of blockchain. I don’t know what the blockchain can bring us, and I can’t realize what the blockchain can change - Technological upgrades and industrial upgrades still need to continue to work hard.
In the future, with economic development, the amount of data generated will increase, and customers will have higher and higher requirements for applications. Correspondingly, the technological development of blockchain will continue to improve , especially the large amount of storage, efficient response speed, safe and reliable encryption methods and other aspects should continue to improve to meet the increasingly high user needs.
future development
- Policies are good for the development of the industry
In recent years, the state has issued a number of policies related to the blockchain industry to promote the development of the industry. In December 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "14th Five-Year Plan for Promoting National Government Informatization", proposing to strengthen network security protection and network trust service systems, promote the pilot application of government blockchain common infrastructure, and support standardization and unification, intensive sharing, and interconnection. Interoperable data exchange and business collaboration. In November 2021, the "Several Measures to Improve the Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises" issued by the State Council proposed to support financial institutions to deepen the use of big data, artificial intelligence, blockchain and other technical means, improve credit approval and risk management models, and continue to increase the number of small and micro enterprises. The scale and intensity of loans, renewal loans, credit loans, and medium and long-term loans. Many other policies support the development and application of the blockchain industry. - Global digitalization promotes industry development
Since 2020, the impact of the epidemic has had a huge impact on the global economic development model, social survival model, international political relations, and digital development. In the post-epidemic era, the global digitalization process is accelerating, and the social penetration rate of mobile communications, the Internet and various digital applications is rapidly increasing worldwide. As an important part of the digital economy, the blockchain is promoted by the development of digitalization and has broad prospects. - Integration of Blockchain and Big Data
Judging from the current situation, the scope of application of Blockchain is still relatively narrow. Although it has very good prospects and the ability to solve specific problems in many fields, when it comes to a specific field, it is always difficult for the blockchain to achieve its goals.
On the contrary, the application of big data has actually been accepted by many people. Especially in the commercial field, realizing the goal of commercial competition through big data analysis has become the first choice of many enterprises.
In this environment, if the blockchain can provide better support for the research of big data, it may bring about an increase in the demand for blockchain applications, which in fact can bring great benefits to the application and promotion of the blockchain. Very good push.