Introduction to Blockchain Basics

Abstract

The blockchain, invented by a person (or group of people) using the name Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, serves as the public transaction ledger of bitcoin. Its decentralization, openness, and information that cannot be easily altered or tampered with are likely to have a disruptive impact on a range of industries, including finance and services. In January 2016, the PBOC (PBOC) held a seminar on digital currencies in Beijing to discuss the feasibility of issuing virtual digital currencies using blockchain technology. Although the pilot digital currency did not fully embrace blockchain technology, the “blockchain,” a somewhat mysterious term, suddenly became a hot topic, followed by the rapid rise of blockchain technology in China, and more and more startups and related research groups were established one after another. It has driven the rapid development of blockchain technology, making it one of the most revolutionary emerging technologies in recent years, and was even considered as the fifth disruptive computing paradigm after mainframe, personal computer, the Internet, and mobile/social networking. It has also been hailed as the fourth credit milestone in the history of human credit evolution, after blood relative credit, precious metal credit, and paper money credit.