Last year was all about bitcoin. World media and analysts were in a frenzy discussing what bitcoin would actually mean. Every high and every low marked by cryptocurrency still draws massive attention. Bitcoin had been associated with crime and dark underworld for a long time. It is making a comeback in a normal market. The cryptocurrency is no more a buzz or technical jargon but now the buzz is all about Blockchain technology.

Majority of the people know and understand the term now. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are a part of our morning coffee now. It is in the discussion within our friend circles or colleagues. Now the attention is getting divided. Analysts, evangelists, technologists have now turned around their attention towards the underpinning technology of the bitcoins-The Blockchain.

Blockchain came into existence to facilitate bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin was aimed to create a virtual currency, irrespective of country, dependent on none i.e., neither a bank nor a government. The challenge was to ensure that a user is not able to fraudulently spend the same crypto twice. The solution emerged in the form of a bitcoin. Blockchain ensures a public log for all the transactions maintained across a number of computers or nodes.

Each node or computer holds an identical copy of ledger and each transaction is noted and updated across. The technology makes it impossible to forge any transaction or hack the system. The technology is advancing beyond the cryptocurrencies into different sectors including healthcare, finance, identity etc. Cryptocurrency can be inscribed with some additional information and thereafter transformed into tokens that can represent anything. From property rights to title deeds, blockchain is the new substitute to verify property rights or track the supply chain.

The blockchain is termed as “the trust protocol” by noted academician and businessman “Don Tapscott”. In a book titled “the blockchain revolution”, Tapscott emphasized on the fact that when it comes to the blockchain, intermediaries are not needed to ensure trust instead blockchain will establish the trust by collaboration, clever code and cryptography. Banks and other financial institutions are striving to streamline their own blockchain that can cater to their needs.

Right now, Ethereum blockchain developed by Vitalik Buterin is dominating the space. This blockchain facilitates the developers to code and then run Dapps (Decentralised autonomous applications), thereby leasing or selling their services in exchange for many cryptocurrencies. Blockchain ventures and ICOs are at an accelerated pace. In fact, blockchain is still mined for the once unimaginable applications. Some of the current applications include the technology being used for voting, tracking supply chain, managing finance, and payments, automobile industry, improvement in music industry etc.

So far the technology has been adopted by many countries. Singapore has been one of the front-runners. Many other countries are following the trial of mining more blockchain applications. Conferences are held to distribute the information and knowledge about the technology. The technology is promising and it will take time to see what the future holds. But right now the verdict is clear. The blockchain is here to stay and has a potential to revolutionize the world we see today.