What is blockchain technology?

The blockchain is a digital ledger that keeps a record of all transaction taking place on a peer to peer network.All information transferred via blockchain is encrypted and every occurrence recorded meaning it can not be altered.

It is decentralized so there is no need for any central certifying authority.It can be used for much more than the currency, contracts, records and other kinds of data can be shared.Encrypted information can be shared across multiple providers without risk of a privacy breach.

The core value of a blockchain is that it enables a database to be directly shared without a central administrator. Rather than having some centralized application logic, blockchain transactions have their own proof of validity and authorization to enforce the constraints. Hence, with the blockchain acting as a consensus mechanism to ensure the nodes stay in sync, transactions can be verified and processed independently.

ADVANTAGES

Automation

With the removal of intermediaries and the distributed ledger being updated in real-time by the miners, any data inputted on the blockchain is transmitted and stored automatically.

Transparency (pseudonymity)

Public blockchains can offer full transparency of the transactions carried out on the network while safeguarding the privacy of its users through pseudonymity since only the transacting addresses are shown.

Security (encryption through cryptography)

Last but not least, neither the nodes nor anyone else except for the sender and the recipient can access the data sent across the blockchain.

Decentralization

This is a core concept and benefit of the blockchain. There is no need for a trusted third party or intermediary to validate transactions; instead, a consensus mechanism is used to agree on the validity of transactions.

LIMITATIONS 

Size – each block of the chain can only contain 1MB of data

Volume – Blockchain is restricted to handling 7 transactions per second while VISA has the peak capacity to handle 56,000 transactions per second.

Lack of maturity – the lack of scale means high marginal cost compared to existing systems.