ABSTRACT
Blockchain requires technical depth to create, yet only some basic fundamentals to understand how and where it can transform different industries. Transparency is high in the Bitcoin blockchain, as everyone who joins has access to the entire log of recorded transactions. This type of public blockchain is desirable for many functions where eliminating the cost and control of a third-party intermediary is the goal. A private blockchain, or a distributed system that trades full ledger distribution for speed, can execute transactions much more quickly but won’t have the same attributes of transparency and security. The innovation of the Ethereum blockchain through the introduction of smart contracts was to allow for a variety of data processing to be programmed into the shared ledger. The speed of transactions on a blockchain network has simultaneously critical limitations as well as rapidly advancing capabilities.
