Understanding Blockchain Technology

Abstract

Blockchain technology has gained great attention from academics and practitioners and its implementation has been considered as a crucial component for the development of digital economy and finance. From a technical perspective, it is a secured database managed by a network of participants who follows a certain protocol to maintain a distributed ledger, ultimately substituting a centralized system through a consensus algorithm Over the past 5 to 10 years, the industry has witnessed significant expansion in blockchain applications, particularly in the area of digital assets. More recent practices are in such as peer-topeer lending, e-governance, healthcare, and supply chain management. These applications capitalize on the inherent features of blockchain, including decentralization and security, which are widely touted as key selling points. The technology, however, as any newly introduced instrument for today's economy, has borne risks and chances due to the dis-equilibration between the hype and hope. Yet, blockchain technology has not been fully comprehended. In this chapter, we are not only focusing on cryptocurrencies, smart contracts and non-fungible tokens but also its evolution and functionality.