TECHNOLOGY

What is Blockchain?

What can help you strengthen your Blockchain Understanding? 
Learn blockchain fundamentals with Francesco Piras, co-founder of BrightNode and Web3 expert with a decade of experience. Gain insights into blockchain’s history, core features, and transformative potential from a seasoned MIT-certified professional.
The most significant innovation of blockchain is emotional, the creation of a new form of trust,' in which you put your confidence in a store of information without relying on any single person to authenticate it — trust the system, not its parts.
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Online Course

Format

30 mins

Video duration

Foundation

Level

Badge

On Completion

Badge of completion

With this online course, you will:
  • Understand the basic concept behind blockchain and its historical development
  • Analyse the potential benefits and drawbacks of using blockchain technology in various industries and applications
  • Grasp the importance of immutability and decentralisation, and how they contribute to the security of the network
  • Evaluate the potential use cases for blockchain technology and identify scenarios where it may be the most appropriate solution
  • Explore the purpose and structure of consensus mechanisms and how they enable peer-to-peer transactions without intermediaries
Skills

Blockchain

Decentralisation

Cryptography

Consensus Mechanisms

Regulation

Course Lessons

What is Blockchain?

In this chapter, we will analyse the importance of a common definition of blockchain and recommend using the MIT definition, which defines blockchain as a shared ledger where transactions are permanently recorded by appending blocks. The blockchain is a historical record of all transactions, and the name “blockchain” comes from the chain of blocks that store several transactions.

History of Blockchain

We will go over the history of blockchain technology and its key milestones, starting with the invention of a cryptographically protected chain of blocks in 1991, followed by the creation of decentralised digital money by Nick Szabo in 1998. The most significant milestone was the invention of Bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, which solved the problem of double spending and introduced the concept of peer-to-peer digital money systems.

Characteristics of Blockchain

In this chapter, we will discuss the four main characteristics of a blockchain: immutability, decentralisation, smart contracts, and cryptography.

Benefits and Drawbacks

In this chapter, we look into the transformative benefits of blockchain, covering transparency, security, intermediary elimination, and business process automation. He acknowledges advantages but explores concerns like privacy, unique governance, regulatory complexities, and the demand for skilled professionals.

 Ledgers and Distributed Ledgers

In this lesson, Francesco explores the fundamental concepts of blockchain, highlighting its core problem-solving innovation. He emphasizes the significance of ledgers and consensus mechanisms in creating a network where participants can directly transact without intermediaries. The blockchain's unique structure, with synchronized copies of ledgers spread globally, enhances security against malicious attacks. 

Consensus Mechanisms

In this chapter, Francesco discusses the concept of blockchain and its purpose to create a system where participants can send money directly to each other without involving an intermediary. This requires a different configuration involving two elements: the ledger and the consensus mechanism.

Meet your instructor - Francesco Piras

Co-founder at BrightNode

Francesco is a seasoned Entrepreneur and Advisor in the Web3 & Blockchain industry, with experience since 2014. He is the Co-founder of BrightNode, a leading professional business consulting firm based in Switzerland that specialises in blockchain projects. As a one-stop-shop for Web3 projects, BrightNode provides comprehensive solutions that include Web3 & Metaverse Strategic Consulting, Tokenomics design, Tokenisation services (company equity, security tokens, real-world assets), Token sale (private, IEO, IDO, liquidity pools, launchpads), Marketing Strategy, White Paper & Litepaper.

Francesco has also worked as a mentor and evaluator in European projects in the blockchain field, leveraging his expertise and knowledge to guide others in the industry. In 2018, he obtained certification in "Blockchain Technologies: Business Innovation and Application" from the prestigious MIT Sloan School of Management (USA). Francesco spent over two decades in the Tech sector as a Co-founder or C-level executive in Business Development, Marketing and sales for several software companies.