You may already have heard of blockchain. The subject is vast, technical and complex, but here's a short, clear summary to help you find out more!

Blockchain is a technology for storing and transmitting information that is transparent, secure and operates without a central control body (definition of Blockchain France). It is the technology at the heart of the decentralized Web and finance.

There are public blockchains, open to all, and private blockchains, whose access and use are restricted to certain players. We'll only be talking about public blockchains in this article, with a separate one dedicated to private blockchains.

The public blockchain is a bit like a digital accounting ledger, in which all transactions carried out on the network are recorded. This ledger is anonymous, tamper-proof, freely accessible and distributed in thousands of copies. But nobody can change it. This digital tool appeared in 2008, invented by an anonymous person or group of people under the pseudonym "Satoshi Nakamoto".

The great strength of public blockchain is that it operates securely and without a central control body.

The decentralized nature of blockchain, coupled with its security and transparency, enables several types of solution.

-> Asset transfer applications: blockchain makes it possible to transfer assets very quickly, without borders anywhere in the world, and at very low cost. Here are just a few examples of possible assets: currency, shares, bonds, votes, tokens. Of course, all assets in a blockchain are digital.

-> Applications as registers : This enables better traceability of products and assets. For example, tracking where a food product is produced, harvested and sold. Another example: recording students' diplomas in a blockchain to prove their authenticity.

-> Smart contract applications: These are autonomous computer programs that automatically execute the terms and conditions of a contract without human intervention, once the smart contract has been activated. Examples include insurance products that automatically reimburse customers in the event of a flight delay, or sports betting products that automatically execute the transfer of funds to the winners of the bet.

The exploitation potential of blockchain is immense, enabling the creation of a new decentralized web.

Blockchain is to the transfer of digital assets what the internet was to the transfer of information.

There are many areas of use for public and/or private blockchain: banking, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, logistics, supply chain, food, luxury goods, retail, energy, real estate, voting ....

This new technology is revolutionary, and represents a breakthrough in terms of innovation. It is the logical evolution of the Internet. These two technologies live together, because a blockchain needs the Internet to function.

As the years go by, the user experience will become more enjoyable for the public. For the moment, the subject is rather complex, but so was the Internet in the 2000s. We're still in the infancy of this technology's potential.

We'll be taking a closer look at the more complex elements of this innovation, so don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have in the comments.