Communications of the ACM

Home/Magazine Archive/January 2020 (Vol. 63, No. 1)/Blockchain Technology: What Is It Good For?/Abstract

Practice

Blockchain Technology: What Is It Good For?

By Scott Ruoti, Ben Kaiser, Arkady Yerukhimovich, Jeremy Clark, Robert Cunningham
Communications of the ACM, January 2020, Vol. 63 No. 1, Pages 46-53
10.1145/3369752
Comments

View as: Print Mobile App ACM Digital Library In the Digital Edition Share:

clear blocks floating in night sky, illustration — Credit: Shutterstock / Andrij Borys Associates

In 2008, an author using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto wrote a white paper describing Bitcoin, a new decentralized cryptocurrency.⁸ Unlike past attempts at forming a cryptocurrency—attempts that relied on preestablished trusted entities for the system to operate correctly—Bitcoin's design runs on the open Internet, with no one in charge, while maintaining tight security. While the building blocks of Bitcoin were not novel, the composition of these properties into a single system was a meaningful contribution,⁹ and Bitcoin became the first cryptocurrency to achieve widespread attention.

In response to Bitcoin's success, the technology was quickly dissected to understand how it works and what is new about it. Its most innovative component has been labeled blockchain technology, a decentralized mechanism for participants to agree upon data and computation.

No entries found

Log in to Read the Full Article

Sign In

Sign in using your ACM Web Account username and password to access premium content if you are an ACM member, Communications subscriber or Digital Library subscriber.

Need Access?

Please select one of the options below for access to premium content and features.

Create a Web Account

If you are already an ACM member, Communications subscriber, or Digital Library subscriber, please set up a web account to access premium content on this site.

Join the ACM

Become a member to take full advantage of ACM's outstanding computing information resources, networking opportunities, and other benefits.

Subscribe to Communications of the ACM Magazine

Get full access to 50+ years of CACM content and receive the print version of the magazine monthly.

Purchase the Article

Non-members can purchase this article or a copy of the magazine in which it appears.