That’s when you know things have become mainstream. But as the hype dies down, you may have noticed more talk about the next newest thing: blockchain. This year, lawmakers established the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, the U.S. General Services Administration recently launched the U.S. Federal Blockchain Initiative, and agencies are eyeing blockchain pilots.
To better understand what this technology is
How it works, and what it means for government agencies, GovLoop spoke with Tomicah, co-founder of Blockchain Trust Accelerator and advisory board member of blockchain infrastructure provider BitFury Group Tillemann. His comments have been edited for brevity and clarity. GOVLOOP: What is blockchain? TILLEMANN: The core of blockchain is a record. But blockchain has two very important new features.
First, blockchain is a distributed record,
It is saved on thousands of computers around the world at the same time. All of these computers are constantly checking each other to make sure ig database that any information that goes into the blockchain is where it should be, and that only information that is authorized to be added to that record will be there. And because there are thousands of computers constantly working to keep the system intact and the information intact.
It creates a much higher level of trust in
The accuracy of records than we’ve ever had in wangfujing business: a guide to success in the heart of beijing any system before. The second feature of blockchain is that the system is designed in such a way that each new entry in the record is mathematically linked to every entry before it. The only way to change anything in a long chain is to change everything in the long chain. Doing so requires extraordinary computing power.
It is estimated that for a public blockchain
The Bitcoin blockchain, to go back and rewrite records would require 10 to 100 times Google’s existing total computing power. It allows you to build syst rich data ems and processes that are virtually immune to interference or manipulation by bad actors or corrupt officials. GOVLOOP: When you talk about thousands of computers around the world, who owns them? Who can connect to the system? TILLEMANN: The amazing thing about this system is that it’s open source.