What the heck is blockchain? As Ali G would say, it involves “techmology”. Still awake? Read on, as one lawyer has attempted to cut through the muck and figure out what blockchain actually is:
“You’ve heard of blockchain. So have I. We are told it will revolutionize the world, or at least the financial and insurance industries. Only one problem: I have no idea what blockchain is. Really, I have no clue….Because I know nothing about blockchain, I figured I should write a blog post about it. This is nothing new for me…You are still reading. I know you are. Which means that you do not totally understand blockchain either and you are hoping that by coming on my personal blockchain journey, you might actually learn something too. So here it is. Distributed. Ledgers….Got it? Me neither. Apparently, distributed ledgers allow new-fangled cryptocurrencies (think Bitcoin) to flourish. And, given how awesome these distributed ledgers are, they will also permit us to eventually cut all the middlemen out of the “value transactions” we make (goodbye Bank of America and PayPal). Perfectly clear now? No? Let’s break it down.”
Read: Blockchain Unchained: One Lawyer’s Quest To Figure Out What The Hell Everyone Is Talking About at National Law Review