Ledger

Question 1

What is a blockchain really?

Answer 1

a distributed, decentralized, publically available ledger of verified transactions.

“aka” a ledger
- a way to track of all different transactions that occured in a network and TRUST the ledger of transactions

goal is to track of all different transactions that occured in a network and trust the history/log that is stored (ledger)

Question 2

How is a bank a centralized ledger?

Answer 2

records transactions
records amounts of $$ in accounts

But…
- centralized entity
- could be hacked
- could burn down and paper ledger of transactions and balances gone
- transactions are not publically available

Question 3

How is a blockchain different than a bank ledger?

Answer 3

**publically available **
- can view all transactions that have ever taken place on the blockchain

distributed
- multiple nodes store the entire ledger, can access it freely and view all transactions ever recorded on the chain

immutable
- unchanging, cannot be changed over time

chronological
- transactions are in order by time

Irrevocable
- once a transaction is on the chain, it cannot be changed/reversed/recovered
- it’s stored there on the chain forever

Question 4

What is a ledger?

Answer 4

a book of transactions (records)

• Ledgers have been around forever and are used for a variety of different applications.
• Banks, businesses and stock traders all use ledgers to record and track transactions.
• In fact, ancient civilizations like the Mesopotamians used ledgers over 5,000 years ago to track quantities and keep inventory of items.