BY NOW, MOST OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE TERM
BLOCKCHAIN. YOU PROBABLY HEARD ABOUT IT IN
REFERENCE TO THE DIGITAL CURRENCY BITCOIN, WHICH
WAS ITS FIRST APPLICATION. BUT, DID YOU KNOW
THAT BITCOIN IS ONLY ONE OF ABOUT 700 HUNDRED
APPLICATIONS THAT USE THE BLOCKCHAIN OPERATING
SYSTEM TODAY?
In fact, some of the world’s largest banks, central banks,
governments, universities and technology companies are
working with blockchain as a future technology – and a whole
host of possibilities are on the horizon for commercial real
estate.
What is blockchain? How does it work?
A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger or decentralized
database that supports and provides a constantly expanding
inventory of records, termed blocks, which are fortified against
alteration and adjustment. Each block possesses a timestamp
and a link to a previously created block.
As it operates, a blockchain effectively serves as a public ledger
for all transactions. Every user is able to link up to the network,
post new transactions and authenticate transactions.
A transaction
is requested
The transaction is disseminated
to a P2P network comprising
of computers known as nodes
The new block is
then appended to
the existing Blockchain.
The data and information
contained are fixed
The nodes authenticate
the transaction and
the user’s status
Once authenticated,
the transaction is
conjoined with other
transactions to form
a new block of data
for the ledger
The transaction
is concluded
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26 The Occupier Edge
Blockchain
THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A NEW
WAY OF CONDUCTING BUSINESS