What is Blockchain?

Blockchains are made up of a series of individual blocks. Each block contains information about transactions conducted within a given time period. They also contain a unique identifier to differentiate them from every other block in the chain.Blocks are created by solving cryptographic problems. The process of solving these problems is known as mining. Mining a block on the blockchain attracts a reward. For example, at the inception of the Bitcoin blockchain, miners solving the cryptographic hashing problem required to add a new block to the blockchain were rewarded with 50 BTC.Blockchains are decentralized records. Instead of being stored in one central location, the blockchain is stored on the computers of every user of that given blockchain.
Meanwhile, the unique block identifier — known as the hash — is derived from the information contained in every previous block in the blockchain. This means that, in order to falsify any record on the blockchain, a nefarious actor would have to change every block on every instance of the blockchain. As a result, blockchains are considered to be virtually unfalsifiable, and are thought of as immutable records of transactions.Today, most blockchains are public. This includes prominent cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Anybody can view records of transactions conducted on a given blockchain, using a tool called a block explorer. Theoretically however, blockchains afford a high level of anonymity to users.

While public blockchains are the norm, private versions are also being explored as a solution for many business and governmental use cases.


What Is Blockchain 1.0?

Blockchain technology has been rapidly developing since Satoshi Nakamoto first published the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008. Blockchain 1.0 is the first evolutionary phase of the development of this technology. It was derived from the original technological structure of Bitcoin, which was based on previous developments of ECash systems from the 1980s and 1990s.

The idea behind Blockchain 1.0 was to create a revolutionary new way to approach finances. With the introduction of a completely decentralized, distributed and immutable online record of transactions, Blockchain 1.0 aims to bring transparency and public access to the global financial system.

The introduction of Bitcoin as a blockchain-based digital money solution gave the start of Blockchain 1.0. Developers started experimenting with the possibilities distributed ledger technology (DLT) can bring to the world of finance. Bitcoin and the underlying technology inspired the gradual creation of numerous other Blockchain 1.0 projects. Not only that, blockchain technology displayed the potential to disrupt countless other industries; however, Blockchain 1.0 developments were explicitly focused on the creation of cryptocurrencies. As the technology improved and developed, Blockchain 2.0 and 3.0 emerged, and they brought on much more extensive capabilities.

Blockchain 1.0 is an essential stage of the growth of cryptocurrencies as a global phenomenon. For the first time in the world’s financial history, monetary transactions became completely decentralized, which meant that there wasn’t a single company or organization determining the rules of the system. Blockchain 1.0 was a radical new approach to what both personal and enterprise finance should be. It was the beginning of a revolutionary new way of thinking. While cryptocurrencies were slow to catch the attention of global players in the financial world, Blockchain 1.0 was a significant move forward to a completely fair and transparent monetary world.

Today, blockchain technology has advanced tremendously. With the introduction of Blockchain 2.0, we saw the development of smart contract capabilities. With the introduction of the Ethereum blockchain, smart contracts became one of the most utilized functionalities of blockchain technology. With Blockchain 2.0, developers started working on creating more DApps and DAOs. Now we are headed towards the third evolutionary stage of blockchain technology, Blockchain 3.0, which will see major enterprise and institutional adoption of the tech. In its final growth stage, blockchain technology will become widely accepted as an industry standard for how companies and organizations run their finances and internal and external operations. While there has been undeniable progress, none of this would have been possible without the introduction of Blcockahin 1.0

What Is Blockchain 2.0?

Blockchain 2.0 is based on the concept of exchanging value in a decentralized and peer-to-peer fashion.
A blockchain is a distributed ledger system that stores all transactions and data in a public database. It is viewed as a major technological breakthrough, with the potential to impact a wide range of organizational operations.
By far the most well-known implementation of blockchain technology is Bitcoin. Bitcoins are used to keep transactions in the cryptocurrency's blockchain, which is a decentralized ledger. In addition to cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology offers a wide range of present and future uses.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the purported creator(s) of the blockchain, never envisioned blockchain technology as being confined to Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. They predicted in 2010 that blockchain technology can revolutionize payment procedures. This growth of blockchain technology's use in new applications is precisely what the founder(s) of Bitcoin envisioned.
The terminology "blockchain 2.0" is used to differentiate between Bitcoin as an asset and the blockchain as a programmed distributed trust infrastructure in particular, with additional scalable on-chain utility and extensible capabilities. Instead of focusing on the decentralization of money and payments, blockchain 2.0 broadens the capabilities of this technology to facilitate the decentralization of markets in general, allowing for the exchange of other types of assets such as certificates, rights, and responsibilities in real estate, intellectual property, cars, and artworks.
Smart contracts are agreements embedded in lines of codes enabled by blockchain technology. These codes can be included in a blockchain 2.0 application as part of an entry. Due to the level of trust embedded into the blockchain as a database that cannot be faked or manipulated, smart contracts between parties who have never met may now enter into agreements with hesitation.

The necessity for physical connectivity becomes evident as we progress toward blockchain 2.0 applications. The simplest aspect may be establishing a blockchain-based land registry on a server or writing a smart contract to be logged as a transaction on a blockchain application. Validating a claim of ownership to a property is difficult in the real world and using blockchain can prove to be helpful in this case.

In general, data recorded on blockchain 2.0 apps must be legitimate and in accordance with the relevant legislation. These also frequently require certification by some government body or local authorities that applicable regulatory criteria have been met.

Since business owners may have reservations that are difficult to overcome, cryptocurrencies have seen substantial growth due to Blockchain 2.0. Crypto miners also enjoy a wide range of alternatives. As Bitcoin dominates around 40-50% of the crypto market, other cryptocurrencies have more room to gather the attention of the market. Ethereum, for example, currently has a market capitalization of more than 10%.

What Is Blockchain 3.0?

Blockchain technology has been a global phenomenon since the introduction of the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008. At first, the technology was focused exclusively on the creation of various cryptocurrencies. However, as software developers and engineers started exploring the capabilities of blockchain technology, numerous new applications arose. With Blockchain 3.0, developers are looking for ways to seamlessly integrate the technology across different industries to optimize their performance.

Blockchain technology has the potential to completely turn around the way companies handle data and other sensitive information. The applications of distributed ledgers and blockchains are virtually limitless, and Blockchain 3.0 is the generation where this technology will be widely incorporated into our daily lives. In terms of applications, there are several industries where blockchain tech has already made revolutionary changes. For example:

  • Healthcare - blockchain technology has the potential to completely revolutionize the management and storage of patient records and personal information. In addition, blockchain optimizations can optimize the communication between different healthcare services and improve global collaboration.
  • Transportation - transportation and delivery services can be highly optimized by the introduction of distributed ledger technology (DLT). Blockchain records can be used for improving traceability and accountability for goods.
  • Voting - as transparent, public ledgers are integrated into voting systems, the process becomes more accessible and better secured.
These are just a few examples of revolutionary applications for blockchain technology outside of cryptocurrency and financial systems. Blockchain 3.0 focuses on creating solutions for services and industries outside the world of economics. This final evolutionary stage of the technology is dedicated to transcending the purely financial application of DLT and introducing new approaches to data management. Of course, the global adoption of blockchain technology will happen gradually as more private parties start developing customized blockchain solutions for different industries. Even so, we are already witnessing the revolutionary power of Blockchain 3.0. The journey towards global adoption began with the introduction of cryptocurrency, then came smart contracts and DApps, and now blockchain is taking over optimizations in numerous industries.
Of course, blockchain technology is not completely flawless, and one of the main focuses of Blockchain 3.0 projects is to polish and improve the technology itself. Concerns like the energy consumption of proof-of-work (PoW) systems have been coming to the forefront, so now developers are working on alternative consensus mechanisms to reach better scalability and efficiency for blockchains