I've been studying and investing (in small ways) in various #cryptocurrencies for about 6 months now so I'm still pretty new at all of this. I think that new or not...the #blockchain can be very confusing to get a grasp on.
One way to get a grasp on what the blockchain actually is, is by exploring the context in which it was developed — "the need for an efficient, cost-effective, reliable, and secure system for conducting and recording financial transactions". Part of our current system's problem is that it is easily compromised and there are high fees associated with many banks and almost all credit cards. We currently have a #centralized financial system. The blockchain essentially #decentralizes the system which means that there are very few fees as there are no central institutions controlling things.
#Bitcoin was the first crypto currency and there is no authority controlling it. It isn't printed or created...it is #mined by computers that solve math puzzles (that is the simple explanation!) There are a finite number of Bitcoins and once they are all mined....that's it. I believe that this has led to the rise of other alt-coins and their increasing popularity.
Next time I will go into a bit more depth on the blockchain process!
Thoughts, questions, comments are always welcome!
Source: public.dhe.ibm.com/
