How Blockchain Will Rebuild the World

Blockchain technology is still fairly new, but the possibilities for how it will change the world are endless. People are experimenting with many different ways to best utilize the blockchain technology at their fingertips, and almost every new application spins off another new application. The first step in understanding this amazing technology is understanding what it is and what it is not.

Blockchain technology is the technology that cryptocurrency was built on, but it is not cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is just one potential application for blockchain technology. Blockchain is a ledger system that connects blocks of data in a way that makes them tamper-evident, making single point tampering less fruitful and far less likely. There are new applications for this technology being discovered every day.

Smart contracts are some of the most interesting ways that have been discovered to utilize blockchain technology. Contracts can be made between individuals without the need for a third party to intervene or record the contract, so for example a landlord and a tenant could agree on rent and exchange cryptocurrency in exchange for a digital apartment key. The contract could both define and enforce rules of the agreement, within legal limits.

Learn more about the future of blockchain technology from this infographic!

How Blockchain Will Rebuild the World was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.