Blockchain, hype, buzzword whatever you want to call it, there is plenty of attention.

Many companies are working hard on applications of this new technology. After the first generation of blockchains were developed in 2009, the blockchain only gained popularity in 2011 due to the increasing interest in the Bitcoin. This first generation of blockchain stands for the cryptocurrency. This variant is a general ledger of all transactions and thus a kind of database that automatically records transactions and has them approved by the participants. As a developer you can do little with this type of platform, only the owner of the blockchain can add code and link applications to the blockchain. Not ideal when applications of the platform have to be developed for business. So it was time for the Bitcoin baby to grow up.

Generation Code-infant

The hands of developers itch to get started with blockchain and to provide the business with applications other than cryptocurrency. That is why we worked on the development of the platform. With the second generation of blockchains it is possible to add code to make the platform a little better. A good example is the open source ethereum blockchain, which is a mining network for various cryptocurrencies with some security measures incorporated into it. With the development of the second generation of blockchains, it has become possible not only to store information, but also to build a smart contract and have it executed automatically. A big improvement that makes blockchain also applicable for companies. The challenge we are facing at the moment and why the third generation is really needed to have blockchain take flight is privacy.

Generatie Privacy-teenager

Privacy has been an important theme in recent years, just think of the arrival of the AVG, but also the large amount of data leaks. This is an important issue when developing applications on a blockchain platform. The third generation blockchain must therefore also receive an important additional functionality. At this moment everything that is put in the blockchain is public and transparent. At QNH we have developed an encryption so that the data is not clear to everyone. A condition is, however, that the encrypted data are not relevant for, for example, a transaction. The number of coins you own can not be encrypted, for example, that is what the blockchain counts. In the third generation of blockchains, the blockchain must be able to rely on encrypted data, if this technology is to be used by companies. At the moment, however, that is still future music.

Generation Infinity

We are now on the eve of this third generation of blockchains, in which the blockchain can count with coded information. We call this zero-knowledge-proof. Once this has been developed, a supermarket can check via the blockchain whether you are really 18 years old without having insight into your age. The supermarket only receives confirmation whether you are older or not, the ’transaction’ takes place without your details being public and transparent. When these third generation blockchains are coming exactly, I do not dare to tell you. But as soon as they are there, the possibilities are endless. Obviously new wishes will also arise if privacy has become part of the technology. In any case, I am looking forward to discover what the next obstacle will be before blockchain will become commonplace. But whatever obstacle this becomes, one day blockchain is the new internet. And from that moment on we can no longer imagine how ‘difficult’ our lives were for the blockchain generation.