“The blockchain cannot be described just as a revolution. It is a tsunami-like phenomenon, slowly advancing and gradually enveloping everything along its way by the force of its progression.” William Mougayar, Executive Chairman of Kin Foundation.

Some people view blockchain technology as the greatest ground-breaking technology since the invention of the Internet.

Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates the recording of transactions and tracking assets in a business network. It is a platform where people are allowed to carry out transactions without the need for a middleman.

Contrary to popular belief, Satoshi Nakamoto was not the founder of blockchain. It was actually conceptualized by cryptographer David Chaum in his dissertation “Computer system established, maintained by the mutually suspicious group”. Developers operating under the pseudonym Satoshi published a white paper outlining the framework for a blockchain. This paper was titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”.  

The rise of Bitcoin.

Most people believe that Bitcoin and Blockchain are the same. However, one is the underlying technology that powers most applications of which one is crypto. Bitcoin came into being in 2008 as the first application of Blockchain technology. Since then, the technology has taken on a life of its own.

Numerous applications have emerged since the advent of Bitcoin, all of which aim to take advantage of the blockchain’s technology

Development of Ethereum & smart contracts.

In a world where innovation is rife, a rising number of developers felt that Bitcoin had not yet reached its full potential in terms of the full capabilities of blockchain. Concerned by Bitcoin’s limits, Vitalik Buterin began developing what he thought would be a flexible blockchain that could serve a variety of purposes in addition to being a peer-to-peer network.

2015 marked a significant turning point in blockchains history, when Ethereum was formally released as the it’s largest application.

As blockchain technology advanced, many businesses have begun integrating it to improve operational effectiveness. Companies like Microsoft and Google appear to have taken the lead when it comes to exploring blockchain technology applications known as private and hybrid blockchains.

Trying to predict the future of any technology is never easy, and blockchain is no different. Analysts believe that if blockchain continues on its current path, it’s likely to affect various industries — including retail, healthcare, education, especially with the growing movement toward decentralized finance. Governments are also set to adopt blockchain as we have seen with El-Salvador and many other Central African countries. It’s only safe to conclude that blockchain is the way of the future and it’s going to transform corporate and individual lives. Years from now, we believe the world will be looking back on the origins of Blockchain and realizing it brought the same innovation and life-changing solutions that smartphones and the Internet did. Watch this space!