There are three broad categories of blockchains: The Public Blockchain, The Private Blockchain, and The Federated Blockchain. In this article, we are going to discuss Public Blockchain. It is also the one that came into being ahead of any other blockchain in the industry. The public blockchain is the underlying mechanism that accompanies Bitcoin and it is the one that served as the original template for not just the algorithm, but also for the concept.
As you advance your knowledge and understanding of the blockchain you will start to see that indeed the blockchain is separate from the cryptocurrency or at least it can be. A lot of confusion has reigned in the space of cryptos and blockchains over time because they seemed to have emerged in the collective consciousness of the world at the same time. But as you have now realized, they are actually different. Because they are different, they can be used to affect other kinds of transactions as well, not just ones that involve payments.
There are also things called smart contracts and smart transactions. It is possible, too, to use the blockchain as part of a storage system. Just as you would have storage in a server that is centralized, you also have storage on a blockchain that is decentralized.
A public blockchain is exactly that it’s public in the sense that anyone can participate in it. Anyone can monitor and confirm transactions, as in a regular node in the network. Anyone can be a miner to create blocks and do the computations necessary for the proof of work. In fact, anyone can keep an eye on the open-source codes that define the blockchain. It is, or at least it is trying to be, as decentralized as possible in absolute terms.
Any attempt to block usage for certain users who want to be a part of it can be considered a form of centralization. The definition of centralization here has to be pretty wide, but it still does fall within the ambit of less than total and absolute transparency and availability just like the Bitcoin blockchain.
There are no barriers to entry in a fully public blockchain, and it can be easy to adopt. For instance, Bitcoin runs on a fully public blockchain. This means you can still set up and run your own node and wallet, see all the transactions, and confirm transactions without even owning a unit of the coin. In fact, you do not even need to run a node; you can go to the relevant websites and see the block time, hash power, node map, transaction details, and everything that you wish to know. You can then build applications on top of it. If you want to mine it, you are also free to do so. However, market forces have made mining an expensive proposition.
But that is not something that can qualify the blockchain as being totally, or even partially private. So the elements of a public blockchain are that it is decentralized and liberal. It allows anyone to participate regardless of location or intention. It also allows anyone to purchase the coin, mine it, and build apps on top of it. There are no prerequisites to any of these, except of course if you plan to mine it, then you need to have the relevant equipment to do it effectively.
The concept of blockchains was born out of public utility, and its initial introduction to the world via the Bitcoin network was designed to be all-inclusive. From the open-source coding from the blockchain to that for the original wallet, nothing has been shrouded in secrecy. The only thing that is kept private is the actual identity of the participants, and even that is because the data is not needed to participate. No one holds this data in any form.
The only way someone can identify your transaction is if you give them a payment from one of the bitcoin addresses that are related to other accounts, and then they can see the payments that you have made from that address. To overcome this and maintain secrecy, savvy bitcoin owners typically route their payments across multiple addresses and then split this up to avoid detection, before finally making the payment that they want to be concealed.
Remember that setting up wallets is free and so is getting a bitcoin address. There are a total of 2^160 possible addresses; that works out to be 1.46 x 10^48 possible addresses. That still gives each person on the planet possible access to use 1.46 x 10^38 addresses each. So not to worry, there is no possibility of running out of these anytime soon.
The larger the blockchain, the more robust it becomes. Why? Because the more fragmentation that occurs in ledger existence, mining activity, and confirming activity, the less chance one or more bad actors can have to alter or change history or the data within the blockchain.
In this respect, public blockchains have tremendous benefits over the private version of the blockchain. But then again, the private version serves a unique purpose.
Now let us be clear about one thing. Blockchains are not proprietary algorithms. They are concepts. You do not need to use existing algorithms or source codes to build your own blockchain. There are two very simple avenues that you can take. The first is, you can fork any open-source blockchain and make the edits you need. The second is that you can write your blockchain in any language you choose.
Just Google it or go to GitHub and you will find a large number of blockchain codes in Python or C++ or any other language that you are comfortable with.
Bitcoin and Ethereum are two of the most popular coins that are built on top of a public blockchain. There are others, but you get the point on it and you understand the public blockchain enough to recognize it at this point.
