What is the public chain?
A public blockchain is an open network where everyone can participate in it, these are called decentralized blockchain where each of the users can do specific activities such as the creation of intelligent contact, transaction verification, vote in favor or against a bifurcation in the network.
Although people can know the information of each transaction (such as the amount of it) they cannot alter or change this data because being a blockchain, it is impossible to change this data once already admitted.
As the name implies, a blockchain is exactly that, a group of blocks which is filled with transactions and once full comes another block and so on. All blocks have a successor, except one which is the genesis block that is the one that starts the chain.
Private blockchains are centralized, that is, not everyone has permission to access it and to participate in it an invitation is necessary. Be a decentralized or centralized blockchain, there will always be a third that records the transactions, therefore, they have our data. But there is no need to worry because it is a safe operation.
The good thing about a decentralized system is that power does not only have a group of specific people, but that we are united in a blockchain, we also have access to the information we need and any change that you want to make in the blockchain, We can give our opinion. In addition, that the information does not focus on one place, but in several places, which makes it safer and in the case of a problem, the copy of the information is in other places.
The most cited example is Bitcoin's blockchain where users participate in the network and Miner Bitcoin (this will have a reward). But we also have the blockchain of Ethereum and Litecoin.
In decentralized blockchain we have what is known as "consensus protocols" where a participant is chosen to propose a new block, this person must place the information correctly, otherwise it will be rejected by other people. To encourage people, the user who proposes a block and this is accepted and this is accepted by the miners, which are the heart of the blockchain, is usually given a reward.
There are also the consensus mechanisms that helps the construction of the block chain, to move from the years, different consensus mechanisms have emerged, their difference between them is the way in which they delegate and reward users for the verification of Transactions. The most common are the "work test" (Pow) and the "test of participation" (POS).
Work test (Pow)
This concept existed before the arrivals of cryptocurrencies (originally by Cynthia Dwork and Moni Naor in 1993). Satoshi Nakamoto was the first to bring the concept in the cryptographic world and prevents some entity from having more control than others in a network, because it allows obtaining consensus distributed among the unknown entities.
In this mechanism, a percentage of transactions are grouped into a mempool (memory space) and miners are responsible for solving a series of asymmetric mathematical riddles, where it is difficult to obtain the answer, but it is easy to verify to verify that the Transactions grouped in the Mempool are legitimate. The first miner to resolve a riddle will have a cryptocurrency reward and a transaction commission. Once the mempool is verified, it is considered as a block and is added to the blockchain.
Participation test (POS)
Here it is not necessary to solve a riddle, but that the creator of a block is chosen based on its participation (how many coins or tokens it has), its advantage is that energy consumption is reduced, since the mining process does not exist through From the resolution of mathematical riddles, in addition, it is encouraged that the people who will make the mining, be people who are really interested in the network. While in a power mechanism the miners should not be motivated or have any interest.
This mechanism was created by Sunny King and Scott Nadal and all coins are created from scratch, therefore, new coins are not created, therefore, who validate the transactions are rewarded by the transaction commission and not with new coins. Finally, this group of people are called "forgers."
Advantages of a public blockchain
There are no falsifications or risks that one occurs, this is due to blockchain technology that makes Bitcoin falsify or double.
Transactions work 24 hours and are done in real time.
When decentralized, no one has a total control of the network and each user controls its activities and will have a copy of the biggest book.
The cost of transactions is much lower than a centralized system and this is because there is no intermediary.
The blockchain is transparent and any user can see what is happening at all times, in this way we avoid corruption or some trap.
The user has total power of their assets, so he can handle them in the way he wants and without any problem. The only thing he cannot do is alter transactions once they are in the block.
Disadvantages of a decentralized blockchain
Users can feel insecure because there is no support as a bank or government.
Being transparent also means that there is no privacy, which can be a problem for some users.
Anonymity can also be considered as a disadvantage in the cause of fraud, since you do not know the identity of the users and it is so when it comes to tracking a person, things can become very complicated.
Energy consumption is very high and is due to the creation of a new block so, it can bring problems to planet Earth, this happens in the case of Bitcoin and therefore some entrepreneurs like Elon Musk stopped accepting the bitcoin. However, sustainable energy can be used and in this way there will be less damage, in addition, Elon Musk will accept the bitcoin if this type of energy is used.
Public blockchains is super important in the cryptocurrency world, all our operations will be registered in a blockchain that in the case of being public we have a transparent system where nothing will be hidden from us and we can trust them. It is very important to know about this and differentiate it from a private blockchain. Even if you have your disadvantages, I consider that this is safer.
