Blockchain is not just Crypto. Blockchain can be used for many applications and it is very easy to get started.
This is the first article in a series of short articles in which I will discuss the process of designing a Blockchain business network using Hyperledger Fabric (Composer, specifically). The purpose of this week’s piece is to set the tone for upcoming articles that I will release weekly on Wednesdays.
To begin, I will like to stress that my goal is to make this series very short and non-technical. This means that no code will be shown and small details about Blockchain will be absent allowing me to focus on the goal of the article which is to design a simple business network with Hyperledger Fabric. Please, I urge you to leave questions and comments in the comment section.
Next, please note that this article is not a primer on Blockchain technologies or cryptocurrencies. Therefore, I will be focusing on using blockchain to solve a problem and NOT the details about the technology or how it works. I could say that Blockchain is a distributed ledger that can record transactions in a verifiable and permanent way but this definition might be incorrect in a few weeks/months’ time because the technology itself is evolving. Francis Pouliot of Bitcoin Embassy speaking at Blockchain Revolution in Toronto’s MARS mentioned that our understanding of Blockchain is evolving as we develop the technology and build solutions on it. In addition, I could say that Blockchain is better than a database because its distributed nature protects the network from attacks like the Wannacry ransomware and that it has no single point of failure. While this is true, I believe that it’s best to write about how we can apply a Blockchain like Hyperldger Fabric to solving a real problem.
As far as assumptions go, I am taking the liberty to assume that you understand Blockchain technologies or that you believe in its potential and will like to learn about how to use it to solve real world problems. If this is untrue, Google will be a great place to start if you still have any doubts about blockchain. Blockchain Revolution by Dan Tapscott and Alex Tapscott is another great resource to read to get some technical and business insights on blockchain.
By way of review, from today’s article, we agree that this series will be short and non-technical and that it will not be a primer on Blockchain. Finally, we agree that we will consult Google or the Blockchain Revolution book if we need to understand the technical details of Blockchain. That’s all for this week’s article. Next week, I will discuss some use cases of Blockchain. More importantly, I will be introducing a real problem that I will solve with Blockchain. It will be beneficial to read next week’s article with a problem that can be solved with blockchain in mind. Please, leave questions and comments below.