The Blockchain is taking the world by a storm. So, what is it really and is it as useful as it is made out to be? Well, the simple answer is, it depends on who wants to use it, for what purpose and how.

The Blockchain in its simplest form, is a new way to record information such that it is spread all over, like the internet, so no one can go and change any fact. No information can be destroyed or fraudulently changed to favor any one person or entity. More importantly, information is itself not shared such that people can access it like they do on the internet, only digital finger prints of information or transactions are shared. So, in case a student was issued a mark-sheet by a university and the student submitted a false copy with better marks when applying for a job application, the Blockchain will help the receiving company identify the fraud because the digital finger prints of the original mark-sheet and the one sent to them do not match. Isn’t that cool and effective?!

Application of the Blockchain being tested in various spheres of life, from land records to medical history to cross border remittance to educational records to tracking provenance of art and numerous other more use cases. ChainTrail is a platform that uses the Blockchain to enable many such uses cases that involve the need for secure transactions.