Graduate School of Management

A blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. Blockchain has been in a lot of buzz these days. And that is mainly because it is backbone of the very famous cryptocurrency in the world - the Bitcoin. Many Governments and leading Banks have decided to bring many of their conventional transactions based on Blockchain concept. The applications and potential of this framework is huge and is considered to be changing the way transactions are made in various domains.

Blockchain was invented by a person using the name Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 to serve as the public transaction ledger of the cryptocurrency bitcoin. The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is unknown. The invention of the blockchain for bitcoin made it the first digital currency to solve the double-spending problem without the need of a trusted authority or central server. The bitcoin design has inspired other applications, and blockchains which are readable by the public are widely used by cryptocurrencies. Blockchain is considered a type of payment rail. Private blockchains have been proposed for business use. Sources such as Computerworld called the marketing of such blockchains without a proper security model "snake oil".