Ease into BlockChain
To answer that we will need to understand one key term taken from the age-old craft of accounting. The general journal.
The general journal is the primary source of all recorded transactions used principally by accountants and bookkeepers. From it, one can tell when currency left or entered the coffers.
The disadvantages of a general journal is that because it is a physical record, it can be(among other things)
- damaged
- lost
- have entries changed whether benevolently or not
The blockchain on the other hand is different. It is "immutable". That means that once a transaction goes on record in this digital version of a general journal, it cannot be altered. I'll explain why and how that is possible as we go along. For now, your key takeaway is what a blockchain is.
Humans have been keeping accounts for as long as there has been civilization. Blockchain is the innovation and the technology whilst Bitcoin represents the value of this underlying technology.
next post...Let Us Cover All Our Bases (Series I part II)
we'll discuss the underlying technology in more detail
Glossary of Terms
- General Journal - A physical accounting journal used to record business transactions
- BlockChain - An immutable digital general journal
- BitCoin - A (cryptographic) store of value
