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WTF Is the Blockchain?
Article

WTF Is the Blockchain?

The ultimate 3500-word guide in plain English to understand Blockchain.

Mohit Mamoria
Hackernoon, 2017
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Editorial Rating

8

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  • Applicable
  • Overview
  • For Beginners

Recommendation

The terms “bitcoin” and “blockchain” flooded headlines after the value of the cryptocurrency more than tripled in the fourth quarter of 2017. But if you are not a currency trader or a technology expert, chances are you may not be fully familiar with their underlying concepts. Mohit Mamoria, the CEO of cryptofund Authorito, helps laypeople understand blockchain in this easy-to-follow blog post on Medium.

Summary

Conventional money transfers depend on third-party intermediaries, such as banks, to process and verify the transactions. If you want to transfer $1,000 to a friend, you ask your bank to deduct the amount from your account and add it to your friend’s account. However, if the third party that completes the transaction is corrupt or makes a mistake, or if the file with your account balance is destroyed, you will have little recourse to recover your money. The blockchain does away with the need for a broker. It contains records of bitcoin transactions. Each blockchain participant maintains a current record of every other member’s account. If members want ...

About the Author

Mohit Mamoria is the CEO of the cryptofund Authorito Capital.

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    V. R. 9 months ago
    The analogy of a "magic machine" and the competitive aspect of mining for sealing numbers effectively convey the complexity and incentive structure of maintaining the blockchain network