Blockchain for Business

3 An implementation-agnostic definition of blockchain

DOI: 10.4324/9781003321187-4

Learning goals

• 3.A The reader can explain the difference between public and private blockchain networks.
• 3.B The reader can explain the concept of blockchain transaction and the gossiping of transactions in a network.
• 3.C The reader can describe the typical structure of a block and understands how a chain of blocks can become immutable.
• 3.D The reader can explain the need for a consensus mechanism in a blockchain and the problems that it addresses.
• 3.E The reader can use the specification of the example system BC4C.

3.1 What is blockchain?

In this chapter we can finally answer the question that opened this book in Chapter 1: ‘What is blockchain?’ Blockchain ...