BITCOIN IS AN APPLICATION OF BLOCKCHAIN
As surprising as it may sound, Bitcoin isn’t the primary technology, blockchain is. Bitcoin operates using blockchain technology which has many applications other than digital currency. For example, Ethereum is another blockchain technology that allows decentralized storage and sharing of web applications along with cryptocurrency transactions through its own technology based currency token named Ether.
INVENTOR OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY IS ANONYMOUS
Recent popularity of blockchain has had people wondering about the person behind this brilliant idea. But the sad truth is nobody is actually aware of the person. Satoshi Nakamoto is said to be the inventor but many believe that it’s just a pseudonym and not a name of a real person. It could very well be a team of more than one people.
ONLY 0.5% OF WORLD’S POPULATION USES BLOCKCHAIN
Blockchain has been dubbed as the “second internet” or “internet of value” as opposed to our traditional internet which is the “internet of information”. Despite being given the crown only 0.5% of world’s population uses blockchain compared to the internet which half the world uses. But with the rising popularity and adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchains in general, and with multinational companies putting their weight behind the technology, this may change quickly.
NO GOVERNMENT OR ORGANIZATION REGULATES BLOCKCHAIN
Our internet is heavily regulated, government censors content that it doesn’t want people to access and in many countries outright blocks websites. With blockchain that isn’t possible at all since all the information is decentralized and no single person owns it.
Another aspect of storing and sharing content and information through decentralized blockchain instead of conventional internet is that it eliminates the need for middlemen such as Facebook, YouTube and blogging platforms. These middlemen rely on consumer generated content but use it to monetize their own businesses instead of sharing gains with content creators. They also regulate what goes on their platform and what doesn’t.
BANKS CAN SAVE BILLIONS USING BLOCKCHAIN
It has been estimated that banks and financial institutions can save up to $10 billion by using blockchain technology instead of more traditional systems. Because of the decentralization aspect, blockchain has little to no maintenance cost and also enables airtight security of data since there is no single party in control of it nor there’s one central location where data is stored.