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The internet has revolutionised the way we approach commerce, communications, financial services, entertainment, intellectual property and so much more. Blockchain technology is the Internet’s missing piece, allowing for any asset to be digitised, transferred and recorded on transparent and distributed ledgers that offer real security. Now anyone with an internet connection can transfer assets directly on a system with unmatched security, integrity and efficiency. No more paper and no more slow, expensive and hackable intermediaries.
A blockchain is a digitised, decentralised public ledger of all digital transactions. Constantly growing as ‘completed’ blocks (the most recent transactions) are recorded and added to it in chronological order. It allows market participants to keep track of digital transactions without central recordkeeping. Each node (a computer connected to the network) gets a copy of the blockchain, which is downloaded automatically.
Originally developed as the accounting method for the virtual currency Bitcoin, blockchains – which use what’s known as distributed ledger technology (DLT) – are appearing in a variety of commercial applications today. Currently, the technology is primarily used to verify transactions within digital currencies, though it is possible to digitise, code and insert practically any document into the blockchain.
A block is the ‘current’ part of a blockchain, which records some or all of the recent transactions. Once completed, a block goes into the blockchain as a permanent database. Each time a block gets completed, a new one is generated. There is a countless number of such blocks in the blockchain, connected to each other (like links in a chain) in proper linear, chronological order.
Peer to Peer Technology – The Blockchain is a transformational, peer-to-peer technology that facilitates direct asset transfer through a decentralised network.
Security – Blockchain technology can strengthen security and governance and help create a strong foundation for profound global and social change.
Transparency – Transparency is built into the Blockchain, which extends its usability far beyond finance. Blockchain technology has the potential to help address many economic, social and governance challenges by rooting out corruption and restoring trust in hobbled institutions.
Multi-Purpose Use – From safeguarding property and voting rights, to financing the work of civil society, to combating identity theft and human trafficking, there are many exciting potential uses.
The blockchain was designed so these transactions are immutable, meaning they cannot be deleted. The blocks are added through cryptography, ensuring that they remain meddle-proof: The data can be distributed but not copied.
The blockchain is perhaps the main technological innovation of Bitcoin. Bitcoin is not regulated by a central authority. Instead, its users dictate and validate transactions when one person pays another for goods or services, eliminating the need for a third party to process or store payments. The completed transaction is publicly recorded into blocks and eventually into the blockchain, where it is verified and relayed by other Bitcoin users. On average, a new block is appended to the blockchain every 10 minutes, through mining.
To use conventional banking as an analogy, the blockchain is like a full history of a financial institution’s transactions and each block is like an individual bank statement. But because it’s a distributed database system, serving as an open electronic ledger, a blockchain can simplify business operations for all parties. For these reasons, the technology is attracting not only financial institutions and stock exchanges but many others in the fields of music, diamonds, insurance and Internet of Things (IOT) devices. Advocates have also suggested that this kind of electronic ledger system could be usefully applied to voting systems, weapon or vehicle registrations by state governments, medical records or even to confirm ownership of antiquities or artwork.
Given the potential of this distributed ledger technology (DLT) to simplify current business operations, new models based on blockchain have already begun to replace the expensive and inefficient accounting and payment networks of the financial industry. Blockchain technology could free up billions of dollars: A recent Goldman Sachs report suggested that it could save stock market operators up to $6 billion a year.
While blockchain technology is a breakthrough for digital records keeping, not all blockchains are the same.
NEM is the world’s first Smart Asset blockchain. Built from the ground up for enterprise-grade performance, NEM’s blockchain technology delivers a world class platform for management of almost any kind of asset – currencies, supply chains, notarisations, ownership records and more. NEM’s power is exposed through a straightforward and secure developer interface so that you can deploy your blockchain solution in record time. Whether you are building the next best mobile app or bringing blockchain into your existing business infrastructure, NEM makes blockchain work for you.
NEM’s Smart Asset system allows anyone to completely customise how they use the NEM blockchain, with a robust set of features including domain-like namespaces and full on-blockchain Multi-signature control. Any application can access these features through NEM’s simple API allowing easy integration within mobile apps, existing business infrastructure or contract logic. The NEM public blockchain provides an open and self-scaling platform for developers.
NEM’s development team learned from the mistakes and shortcomings of other blockchain concepts and created something to stand the test of time. NEM’s core was built from scratch with a focus on solving real-world needs at a global scale.
NEM is higher performance, is more customisable, easier to develop on and is more secure than other blockchain solutions – by design.
NEM gives the user a platform to deploy the best of blockchain technology for their business, quickly and securely. And NEM’s Smart Asset system and simple development API puts blockchain to work for you with maximum customisation and minimum disruption.
NEM’s blockchain platform was designed and coded from the ground up for scale and speed. NEM’s permissioned private blockchain for enterprise delivers tested industry-leading transaction rates of thousands of transactions per second. In addition, the NEM public blockchain uses its “proof of importance” consensus mechanism to optimise throughput and stability on the public node network while being resource effective.
NEM’s architecture provides an incredibly secure and stable platform through its use of Eigentrust++ and an incentivised public node network based on its two-tier architecture. The significant risks inherent in on-blockchain “smart contracts” are eliminated by providing building block customisation to NEM functionality that keeps application security in your hands, not on the blockchain. NEM’s private blockchain option allows complete control over internal data privacy when a public blockchain is not the right solution.
The NEM public blockchain runs on a global public network of nodes whose operation is incentivised through payment of small transaction fees in NEM’s ‘XEM’ crypto-currency. Developing an application for the NEM public blockchain is as simple as accessing a node through the simple and powerful NEM API in your programming language of choice.
The NEM public blockchain is considered the best choice when the priority is open public transactions or transactions between multiple ‘untrusted’ parties. Let the NEM public blockchain be the secure ledger database for your smartphone app, rewards points system or escrow-less ownership management system.
NEM, along with Blockchain Technology Lanka, a subsidiary of the Just In Time Group (JIT) are the organisers of the upcoming event ‘Blockchain for Enterprises’ to be held on February 26th at the Kadirgamar Institute Colombo, in partnership with Daily FT.
JIT is a veteran in the local ICT arena with a history spanning 21 years as a leading ICT Systems and Solutions Integrator to the country. JIT was also listed in the APAC CIO Outlook magazine’s Top 25 Govt. and Public Sector Technology Providers 2017 and is the only Sri Lankan company to be featured and recognised in the magazine’s annual listing of the Top 25 Government and Public Sector Technology Providers 2017.
(Sources: https://nem.io and https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/blockchain.asp)
