A blockchain that friends and relatives can understand

Author: Zhang Kaixiang ｜ Chief Architect, FISCO BCOS

According to Xinhua News Agency on the evening of October 25, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee conducted the 18th collective study on the current situation and trend of blockchain technology development on the afternoon of October 24。While presiding over the study, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, stressed that the integrated application of blockchain technology plays an important role in new technological innovation and industrial transformation。

Subsequently, the questions of “what is a block chain,” “what is the use of a block chain” and “how to master a block chain” kept ringing。Here try to answer these questions in easy-to-understand sentences, hoping that even people who have never been in touch with blockchain can understand this amazing technology that has become a national phenomenon。

What is blockchain？

In professional explanations, the somewhat obscure terms “distributed network,” “cryptography,” “consensus algorithm,” and “smart contract” are generally used, and here is an example。

To understand blockchain, you first have to accept a setting: there is a ledger that records public accounts between a group of people (e.g., class fees, property fees, public donations), and this ledger is kept by everyone together。Select a person, in a page of the ledger, line by line of record details, when the page is full, everyone to check the accounts, if correct, everyone signed to approve all the accounts on this page。When you have a full page, choose another person to start memorizing the next page。Now that the interesting thing is coming, the new page should first copy down some of the summary features of the previous page (such as page number, balance, number of people, number of articles…) and put them at the top of the page for comparison, lest the previous page be changed or lost without evidence to check。Then, one by one bookkeeping, after a full page, check, sign to confirm… repeated in turn。In this way, a “chain of evidence” is formed between pages and pages of the ledger。

More importantly, every page of the ledger that has been signed and confirmed will be copied verbatim by everyone and placed in their homes to prevent a few people from tampering, defacing, or losing the accounts。In this way, each page of the ledger is a “block(Block), “page by page to form a coherent chain of evidence, and everyone forms a multi-point network between them, which is the outline prototype of the” blockchain. “。The key point here is that this ledger must be the account of a group of people, not a single person。If it’s a person’s account, just take a small notebook and write it down yourself, why bother with the whole thing?。It is because this group of people do not fully trust each other, the bookkeeping process may be flawed, so it is necessary to use such cumbersome steps, let everyone participate equally, together to ensure the accuracy and fairness of the accounts, the results produced by everyone to save, never lose or wrong。

The above example seems cumbersome and requires everyone to re-engrave and save word for word, so you need technical means to help you keep accounts。This goes back to the technical aspects, with the development of computer technology, whether it is networks, cryptography, data structures, distributed algorithms and other technologies are maturing, the blockchain field to combine these technologies together, a package to complete the entire process from bookkeeping to distribution to verification to preservation。Use technology to serve the entire group, this is the magic of blockchain technology。

Is Blockchain Bitcoin?？

First, the answer is yes: no。Bitcoin is indeed an early application of blockchain technology, which provides a virtual token with fluctuating prices, and then there are many “altcoins” to follow the example of Bitcoin, these virtual tokens are very high risk, not allowed by laws and regulations。At present, the “blockchain” advocated by the state has clearly drawn a clear line with virtual tokens, with more emphasis on the research of core technologies, strengthening system security, controlling business risks, and more emphasis on the integration of blockchain technology and specific real economy, such as compliant and legal financial business, government affairs, smart cities, agricultural industry, etc., using technology to solve practical problems and explore innovative scenarios。Blockchain is not a tool for issuing coins and cutting leeks, not a cover for a capital plate, but an increasingly mature and standardized innovative technology that will subtly affect everyone’s daily lives like the Internet, apps and other common technical services。

Is blockchain just a technology?？

If you just talk about technology, you may not have the charm of the blockchain yet。As mentioned above, the blockchain record must be multi-person participation, so why do you spend energy to participate in the trouble of bookkeeping, why do you have to pay the cost to buy books and pens to bookkeeping？This involves “multi-party collaboration.”。In modern society, many things are difficult to accomplish by one person, and we must work together to achieve 1+1>2 effect, but more people, the account is complex, there may be similar to “information asymmetry” and other problems, then we need to organize into alliances, joint accounting, sharing data, so that everything happens in the sun, which eliminates the “information asymmetry”。Such a collaborative environment is trustworthy and efficient, everyone’s interests are protected, and the business environment is well developed。This is the more important “blockchain thinking,” so that more people involved in the operation of the rules: honest work will be due to the benefits, if cheating will naturally be known to all, thousands of people。Technology is the foundation that helps implement this model。

What can blockchain do?？

Integrating blockchain technology and blockchain thinking, you can consider using blockchain as long as it involves multiple parties and has complex accounting and data sharing requirements。Blockchain can not only keep accounts, but also record information about people and things, and become credible by jointly verifying and solidifying the information。

在在traditional financial sceneIf the transaction takes place on the blockchain, it can play the role of “transaction is reconciliation,” greatly improving operational efficiency。Furthermore, in typical financial services such as supply chain, cross-border payment and bills, blockchain can be used to build public ledgers between partners, and massive amounts of funds and assets can be recorded, verified and traded on the chain, with credible, accurate and efficient ledgers, which can greatly expand the scale of financial services, improve operational efficiency, reduce costs and risks, and better solve a series of problems such as financing difficulties for small and micro enterprises, bank wind control difficulties, and regulatory。In addition, compliant and standardized digital assets can also be defined, circulated and accepted on the blockchain, which can build innovative business models。

在在Judicial depository areasIf the signing process of the contract is fully recorded on the blockchain and witnessed by the participants, including the judiciary, then in the event of a dispute, the judiciary can extract evidence from the chain with one click for verification, proving that the contract has not been modified from birth to the time of the evidence。Due to the involvement of the judiciary in the chain, such evidence already has some judicial effect, greatly reducing the cost of justice。

在在government serviceOn the other hand, blockchain is used for identity authentication, allowing people’s identification to be verified in one place and available everywhere。Using blockchain to connect multiple departments, you can do “more errands when doing things, users less errands,” and “prove that I am me, my mother is my mother” things will no longer exist, but also to protect user data privacy。

In addition, blockchain technology can also be applied to copyright, property, Internet of Things, smart city, new energy, entertainment, talent exchange and other massive fields。Correctly integrating blockchain technology and blockchain thinking with matters related to the national economy and people’s livelihood can greatly enhance the level of intelligence and precision, enable interconnection between industries, and ensure the orderly and efficient flow of production factors in the region。

Click to view the blockchain application case compilation (with HD PDF full download)

Why countries attach so much importance to blockchain？

Blockchain has great potential for development, itself contains a very dense technical content, the technology has enough research and control, in order to make its own development is not affected by external influences and constraints。Blockchain technology will be used in a wide range of scenarios related to the national economy and people’s livelihood, involving the financial and personal information of many people, and even important information in key areas such as the financial industry, government affairs and people’s livelihood。Therefore, the current state has put forward a clear request to us: “pay attention to the current situation and trend of blockchain technology development, improve the ability to use and manage blockchain technology,” so as to better build a network power, develop the digital economy, and help economic and social development。

What is the current situation of blockchain development in China？

Many large financial companies, Internet companies, and technology companies are conducting blockchain research, and in the past few years, they have gradually solved or nearly solved a series of core issues in the blockchain field, such as performance, security, ease of use, and compliance。

We focus on the development of the blockchain field is the “alliance chain,” alliance chain and anonymous, virtual token “public chain” (such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.) is very different, alliance chain does not issue currency does not mine, abandoned the disadvantages of barbaric operation, can be more standardized, legal operation, can effectively serve the real economy。

The blockchain alliance, Golden Chain Alliance, jointly initiated by domestic institutions such as WeBank and Shenzhen Financial Technology Association, mastered a number of core technologies and released the underlying blockchain platform and series of solutions represented by FISCO BCOS in 2017。This series of open source projects are safe and controllable, excellent performance, free and easy to use, committed to serving the real economy, in a large number of industries related to the national economy and people’s livelihood has been widely landed, technology and model has been verified by a large number of practical cases。

In addition, it is worth mentioning that FISCO BCOS adopts the path of open source technology to accelerate the development of the industry, incubates and expands the largest and most active industry ecological community in China, attaches importance to personnel training in the promotion, trains a large number of blockchain professionals in universities, society and industrial institutions, and helps blockchain technology and industrial development accelerate breakthroughs in talent。

How do I cut into the blockchain space?？

If you are aNon-engineering people interested in blockchainThen you can pay more attention to the formal and authoritative public numbers and mainstream media in this field, learn more about blockchain-related news trends and industry trends, establish a correct blockchain concept, eliminate noise from virtual coins and capital plates, and gradually compare “blockchain thinking” such as “multi-party peer-to-peer collaboration” and “openness and transparency” to your current work life。

If you are aStudents in Engineering, InformaticsIt is recommended that you lay a good academic foundation in school, such as mathematics, algorithms and data structures, probability theory, game theory, cryptography, etc., master one or two major computer languages, consult experienced professors and teachers, actively participate in the school’s blockchain community activities, or participate in the FISCO BCOS blockchain open source technology community and school joint courses to get started with blockchain applications in three days。

If you areBusiness and liberal arts backgroundWe can focus on the trend of distributed business, make good use of the experience and knowledge of humanities, management, economic theory and game theory, meet the challenges of multi-party collaboration, and use innovative thinking to open up new scenarios that can serve the real economy and people’s lives。

If you areProfessionals working in ITYou are welcome to join the FISCO BCOS blockchain open source technology community。There are active WeChat groups discussing technology and industry issues, and public numbers regularly push technical analysis articles, event notifications, etc。More importantly, you can get a full range of open source and free blockchain solutions, from the underlying blockchain platform to identity, IoT, graphical tools, cloud services, a wealth of documentation and professional online and offline courses to help you learn quickly, from entry to proficiency。Blockchain technology can connect a number of technologies, including artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, big data, financial technology, etc。

If you are alreadyHard Core Blockchain ProfessionalsAnd willing to participate in the open source community, you are welcome to pay attention to the FISCO BCOS blockchain open source technology community, exchange what is needed, jointly in-depth study of core technologies, contribute to the open source community, code optimization, document editing, etc., together to achieve more functions, and jointly create the best blockchain technology platform。

If you’ve been faced with a variety of actual scenarios,Want to solve your specific problem with blockchainFISCO BCOS blockchain open source technology community has many financial institutions, technology companies and industry experts, can work with you to integrate resources, business cooperation, complete system construction and business operations。

Blockchain has reached the present, but will affect the future, and a trend with unlimited potential to grow together, now, is the best time。