Blockchain the new Internet is a discussion that refuses to go away, given the hype around the emerging technology. The comparison does not come as a surprise given that blockchain has proved to be more than capable in changing how people live and still be able to revolutionize various industries.
Just like the internet in the early 2,000’s, Blockchain technology has started to elicit interest amongst the big technology companies as well as financial institutions and governments. While the impact of the internet on people’s lives is almost complete, the same cannot be said about blockchain technology.
The big question remains, is blockchain the new internet? Given the impact, it is having in people’s lives and various industries?
Blockchain The New Internet: Description and Purpose
Blockchain the new internet takes shape, when one takes a closer look at what the two technologies are all about and their purpose
When it comes to description and purpose, blockchain just like the internet provides an easy way for people to access information regardless of location. While any information shared in websites can be altered, information added on a blockchain is incorruptible.
The internet is a global network of computers and other electronic devices. The network relies on telephone lines, cables, satellites and wireless connections to connect electronic devices around the world. The Internet makes it possible for people all over the world to access almost any information and communicate with each other regardless of location.
Blockchain, on the other hand, is a digitized decentralized public ledger. It can also be envisioned as a software platform for digital assets. It consists of a growing list of records called blocks, linked and secured using cryptography that can be accessed by one no matter the location.
Usage and Control
Blockchain and the internet have found great use in the financial sector. However, their usage differs when it comes to who is in control with each of the technologies. Blockchain in this case appear to be an improvement of the internet as it accords people total control when it comes to information shared.
In the financial sector, banks use the internet to offer various banking services. For instance, they own servers that customers use to access accounts. The fact that the institutions own and control servers means they are always on the know, where a customer is, whenever they access their accounts through ATMs or check the balance and carry out various transactions online.
With the Internet usage, banks can freeze accounts on a touch of a button or change anything in the server without customers consent.
Blockchain technology presents an entirely different situation, where no one person is in total control. While blockchains are an array of servers, no individual owns or controls the servers. Transactions carried out on a blockchain cannot be traced where they are coming from or where they are headed.
Unlike with bank’s, it is not possible to extract data from transactions carried out on a blockchain. One server going down does not in any way affect the operations of a blockchain powered network as there are many other servers with the exact information.
Size and Scope
Even though Blockchain is the new internet, it still has a long way to go when it comes to coverage and scope of use.
The Internet has an edge over blockchain technology, when it comes to size and the number of people using it, in part because it has been in operation for many years. The Internet is universal, and more than 3 billion people can access it.
Blockchain, on the other hand, is a niche technology that only came into being in 2008. Given that it is only now that people are starting to get an idea of what it is all about and what it can do, explains its limited scope.
Internet widespread adoption has to do with the fact that it is easy to use due to technologies like www. Blockchain, on the other hand, is yet to gain a foothold in people lives in part because it is still evolving as a universal friendly interface.
Blockchain The New Internet: Conclusion
Blockchain the new Internet is a comparison that should continue to gather steam given the similarities the two enjoy as they continue to affect people’s way of life. Blockchain technology is not in any way expected to destroy the internet but instead compliment it, in making it easy for people to do various operations online.
