Imagine a spreadsheet that is copied millions of times across the internet. Now imagine the network updates this spreadsheet and you have a basic understanding of the block chain. Information held on a block chain exists as a shared — and continually reconciled — database. This is a way of using the network that has obvious benefits. The block chain database isn’t stored in any single location, meaning the records it keeps are truly public and easily verifiable. No centralized version of this information exists for a hacker to corrupt. Hosted by millions of computers simultaneously, its data is accessible to anyone on the internet. The block chain is undeniably ingenious, the brainchild of a person or group of people known by the pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto. But since then, it has evolved into something greater, and the main question every single person is asking is, What is it? By allowing digital information to be distributed but not copied, block chain technology created the backbone of a new type of internet. Originally devised for the digital currency, Bitcoin the tech community is now finding other potential uses for the technology.
