Blockchain technology is the core of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It works on a public ledger that is continuously updating to record all the transactions. Blockchain allows transactions to take place in the absence of a central authority like a bank, a payment company or government, which makes it a groundbreaking technology.
The buyer and the seller interact and transact with each other directly, without the need of a trusted intermediary for any verification. This cuts the costs of middlemen, which allows businesses to work in a decentralized manner.
The accessibility of blockchain technology for involved parties is its another fantastic feature. It is similar to Google Docs, which allow multiple parties to access the ledger in real-time. For example, if you sign a cheque for your friend, you both have to balance your checkbook ledgers.
But here the things can go wrong if your friend forgets to update his checkbook ledger or your bank account has insufficient balance to dispense the stated amount.
According to fxempire.com, by using the blockchain technology, both you and your friend view a common transaction ledger, and neither of you controls the ledger. The ledger operates on consensus, as you both need to verify and approve the transaction to add it to the chain. No one else can alter the chain, as it is secured with cryptography.
If we look at the technical perspective, the blockchain technology uses consensus algorithms, and all the transactions are captured in multiple nodes instead of a single server. A node is a computer connected to the network on which blockchain is working. All the nodes should be in agreement for any transaction to be valid.
Major Impacts On Virtual Currency Market
Technology consulting firm, the CB Insights, has figured out 27 ways in which blockchain can change the fundamental processes in the diverse sectors like cybersecurity, banking, and academics.
Considering this, let’s discuss some of the ways in which ‘Blockchain Technology and Blockchain Development Companies’ are impacting the virtual currency markets.
Cryptocurrency Mining
Mining here is a process in which the verification of cryptocurrency transactions and the creation of new cryptocurrency units occur simultaneously. Powerful software and hardware are required for effective mining when a number of transactions take place.
A single computer system is not powerful enough to efficiently mine cryptocurrencies, and to address this, companies developing blockchain often make miners join pools to increase the cumulative computing power and allocating profits to the participants.
The blockchain development companies leverage the cheap electricity and specialized hardware gained through pooling the miners who are competing to verify pending transactions and reap the profits. This competition is helpful in ensuring the integrity of transactions. Most of the mining pools are in China which are leveraging the cheap electricity prices in the country.
Cryptocurrency Exchanges
Cryptocurrency exchanges, created by a few of the best blockchain companies are the portals or websites where individuals or businesses sell, buy, or exchange the traditional or digital currency for cryptocurrency. These portals can also convert cryptocurrency into any major government-backed currencies, and also into other types of cryptocurrencies.
Some of the largest exchanges by blockchain development companies that trade for more than $100 million or equivalent in a single day, and making a fortune in cryptocurrency, are as follows:
- Bitfinex
- Poloniex
- Kraken
Almost every blockchain development company has to follow the government’s anti-money laundering regulations to run the exchange, and the customers are also required to provide the identity proof while opening an account.
Some companies developing blockchain solutions like LocalBitcoins that allow people to use peer-to-peer transactions without disclosing personal information.
In a peer-to-peer transaction, the participants trade their cryptocurrencies through software without any involvement of an intermediary. The practice helps in saving margins but is also considered to be unhealthy and risky, as it is not regulated by any official authority.
Cryptocurrency Wallets
Many blockchain app development companies are working on cryptocurrency wallets which help users to receive and send digital currency and also to monitor their balance. These cryptocurrency wallets can either be software or hardware, but hardware wallets are regarded to be more secure.
For instance, the ledger hardware wallet looks like a USB drive, which gets connected to the USB port of the computer to access your wallet. Whenever you try to do a new transaction, your computer asks the ledger wallet to sign-in and broadcast this to the blockchain.
The private security key is used for sign-in and the new transactions and balances for your bitcoin account are saved in your Ledger wallet.
Since the private key is attached to your hardware wallet, your bitcoins remain safe. If your hardware wallet is not backed up, then losing it would result in the loss of your assets.
In contrast, some blockchain development companies offer a virtual software wallet like Coinbase. This type of virtual wallet places your funds online, which has some added risks, as the wallet provider has the possession of your funds. Coinbase has introduced a service called ‘Vault,’ to enhance the security of virtual wallets.
Conclusion
However, the digital currencies and blockchain technology are still in their infancy stage, so the interested investors and users should proceed with caution. The best blockchain companies are trying to capitalize on the adoption and acceleration of this new technology through private equity. According to Mobile App Daily, one of the things that could help people to start trading certainly are applications that give better insight and make things a lot easier.
The way these blockchain development companies are moving forward with this emerging technology, they are on the way of bringing a revolution in the banking and financial markets. With various innovations in the blockchain technology, a more mature form of this disruptive technology can come up.
