Trust and transparency are two of the most important components of internet security. But how do websites and individuals establish parameters to ensure a modicum of trust in transactions? The technology underpinning Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency created by a group of programmers in 2009 that hit an all-time high last week, is one of the leading open-source platforms governing these transactions.
Known as blockchain technology, the system operates according to a simple logic. Since Bitcoin i traded on a decentralised (and anonymous) network, there must be certain safeguards to ensure that no single company or individual is manipulating currency rates. The currency is traded between entities on a one-to-one basis, so what steps are taken to verify that accounts are not double spending or otherwise manipulating rates?
Using the principle of peer-to-peer networking (think of how BitTorrent shares files through a decentralised network of computers around the world) blockchain technology creates an unalterable digital ledger that ensures Bitcoin trading is above board.
While it might sound technical, the premise is straightforward. When someone requests a transaction, let’s say to buy Bitcoins, their request is sent to a network composed of several computers, known as nodes. This network then validates the transaction using established algorithms. Once the transaction is verified, it is combined with other transactions that form a block of data. This block is then added to existing blocks to form a digital ledger. These blocks of data are chained together and are then considered to be permanent and unalterable. Given the sheer size of the data collected in these digital ledgers, no single computer has the power to crack them or alter their contents.
Additionally, all the data in the block is visible to the public and thus transparent. While blockchain technology has an obvious application in the trading of cryptocurrency, its premise can be used across the internet.
Any form of data from documents to contracts can be exchanged using a block chain. With Bitcoin’s surprising comeback on currency markets in recent months, there is new interest in using blockchain technology for other applications across the web.
Start ups are using blockchain for everything from the creation of digital contracts to new ways of securing data uploaded to the cloud. Any complex transaction that requires a level of trust and transparency can benefit from this technology.
Already a couple in Singapore used blockchain systems to register their marriage certificate. The Nasdaq Stock Market, borrowing a page from the Bitcoin playbook, uses blockchain to facilitate stock trades of private companies.
For the time being, blockchain provides the coveted seal of trust and transparency in the internet environment. As more aspect of our lives are uploaded to the net, its possibilities are endless.
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● Company: Bidzi
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● No of employees: Nine
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COMPANY PROFILE
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Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
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Belgian authorities joined French police in banning the threatened blockade. A similar lorry cavalcade was planned for Friday in Vienna but cancelled after authorities prohibited it.
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
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