ADSactly Tech News - Blockchain, BCH, BTC and Cryptocurrency Explained!
Image Source: Pexels
Blockchain can be difficult to understand. Some people think that Bitcoin is a blockchain but in reality it is a cryptocurrency with its own blockchain.
A cryptocurrency could operate with its own blockchain but it doesn't mean a blockchain is a cryptocurrency.
I thought it was time to finally get things right. What am I talking about eh? Well, a lot of people have asked me in the past what was the difference between a blockchain and a cryptocurrency. The answer often confused them and they felt they didn't want to know anymore after I tried to explain! However, in this article I would like to give a bit of clarification on the difference between a cryptocurrency and a blockchain and also offer a bit of insight on the difference between between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.
So without further delay let me get going with this! Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) are extremely similar considering BCH is fork (replica) of BTC with several key adjustments. The one thing they have in common is the fact that there will never be more than 21 million of either of them. This makes both of them suitable places to park money considering the laws of supply and demand. Digital assets are unlike physical assets in the sense that you cant touch digital assets, however, they are not that much different than stocks or bonds in the sense that you can convert them into fiat cash relatively easily.
The major divergence between Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) comes down to ranking of priorities.
In its current construct, design, and roadmap, the BTC community is focused first on keeping Bitcoin decentralized so that it can remain as a public, permissionless, highly censor-resistant network that anyone in the world can use and build on top of. Fast, cheap payments are a secondary priority.
This chart visually demonstrates the point made above:
Both are competing to be the one and only 'Bitcoin' but more likely than not they will both continue to exist perpetually. Their future valuations are uncertain however...
The author of the article I'm referencing makes the following point here:
In my view, Bitcoin’s features as a public (anybody can use it), permissionless (anybody can build on top of it), highly censor-resistant (nobody can block your transactions), and un-seizable form of money all stem from its decentralized architecture. If Bitcoin loses its decentralization, then it’s just an inferior form of centralized institutions.
In my opinion BTC has already accepted a trojan horse in the form of it's recent 'Segwit' upgrade. This is something I doubt has been researched in as much detail as it should have been.
When researching the cons of Segwit I came across this comment on reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/btc/comments/77k5d6/why_is_segwit_bad_honest_question/
Segregated Witness is the most radical and irresponsible protocol upgrade Bitcoin has faced in its eight year history. The push for the SW soft fork puts Bitcoin miners in a difficult and unfair position to the extent that they are pressured into enforcing a complicated and contentious change to the Bitcoin protocol, without community consensus or an honest discussion weighing the benefits against the costs. The scale of the code changes are far from trivial — nearly every part of the codebase is affected by SW.
While increasing the transaction capacity of Bitcoin has already been significantly delayed, SW represents an unprofessional and ineffective solution to both transaction malleability and scaling. As a soft fork, SW introduces more technical debt to the protocol and fundamentally fails to achieve its design purpose. As a hard fork, combined with real on-chain scaling, SW can effectively mitigate transaction malleability and quadratic signature hashing. Each of these issues are too important for the future of Bitcoin to gamble on SW as a soft fork and the permanent baggage that comes with it.
To be honest even though I am @techblogger some of the technical language when discussing blockchain still throws me in loops. The part about Segwit being pushed upon the community without consensus (agreement) is very concerning. According to this statement Segwit has done very little to deal with scalability and reduction of transaction costs which may someday become Bitcoin's undoing.
Now let me get down to the other point I said I would discuss in this article and that was an answer to the question, what is the difference between a blockchain and a cryptocurrency?
Well, you see, when people talk about blockchain they are not necessarily talking about Bitcoin or a cryptocurrency. They may not be referring to other cryptocurrencies that operate on blockchains.
They are most likely referring to the underlying technology that allows for decentralized transferrence of information across time and space.
A blockchain is a series of blocks (code) that act as a ledger or record of events and values. It is verified by nodes, servers, computers through a method of consensus where each entity must agree on validity. If a block appears valid by the masses it is accepted and added to the long chain of blocks that came before it. Think legos but with code. One of the reasons blockchains are so interesting is that they are decentralized. It is sort of a community verified network. Because of this decentralization they are often referred to as 'trustless' because each entity can see what its fellow member wrote and decide for itself if it is valid or not. There are many advantages to running a decentralized service as opposed to a centralized one but one of the biggest advantages is free and open access to information with limited risk of corruption.
Blockchain will most likely be incorporated into everyday life on a much larger basis going forward. The age of AI, decentralized data storage and transparent ledger access may be starting. It is almost certainty that the future is going to be an interesting place and we should be prepared for unimaginable changes going forward with the paradigm shift blockchain is sure to encourage!
Let me know what you think about bitcoin, bitcoin cash and blockchain technology.
Here's a chance for the @ADSactly community to leave their thoughts and opinions on this topic!
Thanks for reading.
Authored by: @techblogger
In-text citations sources:
Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin Cash: A Story Of Prioritization & Healthy Competition In Money - Forbes
How Bitcoin Cash Has Suddenly Become the Real Thing - The CoinTelegraph
Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/btc/comments/77k5d6/why_is_segwit_bad_honest_question/
I can consider myself new and novice in these matters. In fact, I have become interested in reading about cryptomonedas after my foray into steem. As far as I understand Bitcoin and many crypts are decentralized, because nobody controls it. Bitcoin does not have a central emitter like dollars or euros, the crypto coins are produced by people and companies around the world dedicating a lot of resources to mining. Hence I do not understand how in my country, for example, have wanted to invent a spawn called Petro, which they say would be a cryptomoneda, but the state would control it. That is to say, the essence of cryptomoneda would be lost. Unless due to the great corruption that there is and as the accounts of cryptomonedas can not be intervened by anyone nor can they be frozen, they want to protect their wealth. I hope that you will continue to deal with these issues and that you will be able to guide us, those of us who are new to this, so as not to be so lost. Thank you,@techblogger
.
Absolutely @nancybriti and from the sound of it you are doing just fine in understanding the difference between a true cryptocurrency (decentralized and impossible to manipulate its creation because its set on a fixed schedule / system) and another centralized currency simply using cryptographic and blockchain technology. They are not the same at all are they? Thanks for reading my article.
In the Bitcoin Cash vs Bitcoin fight, only time will show what is the strongest cryptocurrency. It is impossible to make precise predictions about the evolution of the Bitcoin Cash course. Like most crypto-currencies Bitcoin Cash is characterized by high volatility. However, compared to other crypto currencies that have been on the crypto market for years, Bitcoin Cash has won a respectable position for the diversification of the electronic purse of crypto-traders.
About blockchain i think it allows to achieve more transparency as well as continuity and validation in operations. It improves the security, harmonization and quality of collaboration between all stakeholders. It will allow, in certain sectors, to adopt a common infrastructure. It also offers certification in certain areas such as diamonds for example.
Some countries use it for the implementation of the electoral procedure. Denmark, is considering the blockchain to secure the votes. This technique would also allow to obtain the results out of the ballot boxes in real time.
Great post to inform people and explained to them about this. Actually I remembered when I joined steemit earlier and when I begin to know about Cryptocurrency. But as time goes by and as I begin to read more about Cryptocurrency stuff, I begin to learn that bitcoin is a currency and not a company. This is actually most of the time hard to understand as a newcomer who haven't hear or understand about Cryptocurrency stuff. Great post
Posted using Partiko Android
Absolutely. To seasoned veterans like many on Steem this information may not seem very valuable but to someone who really doesn't understand anything at all about cryptocurrencies and blockchain this should give them a better understanding of what each word means and the differences between them.
@adsactly very good explanation about cryptocurrencies, an excellent topic that currently flies networks and the whole world, banks, global finance and people themselves, each person should be updated with these issues to produce money
The subject of crypto coins is very much in vogue nowadays, but there is not much information for those of us who are not familiar with the subject to read and understand easily. I find those publications very interesting because they are an alternative to get to that information. Bitcoin is spoken of as the currency of the future and many are interested in obtaining them through mining devices and exchanges, but this, at least in my country is not very safe. The state has persecuted the people who have this equipment and has deprived them of liberty in many cases, so it is very risky to be a miner. Now, the government talks about Petro as a cryptomone, but with the little I understand about it, I think it is far from being one. Thank you for this publication, @techblogger.
Dear @adsactly sir!
Your method of defining blockchain and bitcoin and clarifying the distinction is very good. Simply put, Iwas confused so far that the blockchain is a form of cryptocurrency.Although bitcoin and other currency were so important, the government and the bank of some countries did not consider it valid. It's disappointing. Are there any chances of validity of these currencies, whether there is a country in which it has not been considered legitimate in the future of digital currency? Will this country allow the BTC currency exchange policy? Bitcoin is Mother Currency, whose value is more than other currencies, Where the government is not afraid that other currencies will lose its existence after getting validity to Bitcoin?There are some such questions whose answers I am in search of. I hope your article will continue to get better updates and information.
Regards
Yes, you are well on your way to understanding. In the most simple definition blockchain is a technology, a software protocol in which many computers can communicate and agree on information, putting it into blocks on a blockchain. A cryptocurrency is a digital asset that uses blockchain as its underlying technology to exist. In regard to your questions about approval, I believe governments are beginning to accept it and find a way to regulate bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies so that they can be used as legal forms of payment. We will see....
Thanks for sharing such kind of informative knowledge. Most of has don't have the clear idea about the decentralized mechanism . Yeah, so many websites are there , we can optimize the search engine to know about the cryptocurrency and blockchain. Also a very important tropics is Bitcoin and BCH. You clear all of my doubts. @adsactly, thanks a lot bro.
good post for those people who are they confused :p
Wow