Before we have an actual discussion of the types of blockchains, let’s learn why we need them in the first place. When blockchain technology was first introduced to the world, it was a type of public blockchain with cryptocurrency use cases. It’s really hard to fathom the intent of its creator, but in general, he delivered the concept of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Blockchain.
The concept of DLT has changed the way we solve the problems around us. It gave organizations the ability to work without depending on a centralized entity.
Distributed ledger technology or Blockchain solves the drawbacks of centralization, but in itself it has brought many other issues to be addressed when it comes to applying blockchain technology to different scenarios.
Bitcoin used an inefficient consensus algorithm, PoW Proof of Work. Nodes were needed to solve mathematical calculations using energy. this is not a problem, but as the difficulty increased, the time and energy required to solve these mathematical equations also increased.It makes it unsuitable for any system that must remain efficient.
For example, banks handle many transactions every day. Therefore, this type of blockchain is not suitable for this. There were other issues associated with the first generation of blockchains, including scalability and lack of automation.
A different viewpoint on the blockchain.
Not everyone, such as organizations, can use a public blockchain. This is due to the fact they can not make each issue in public.
Private blockchains provide a totally non-public surroundings in which the corporation makes a decision who participates in it. This permits them to take benefit of blockchain capabilities with out the want to make the entirety public.
There are 4 types of blockchain technologies, they encompass the following:
Public
Private
Hybrid
Consortium
PUBLIC BLOCKCHAIN
A public permissionless blockchain is one of the distinct styles of blockchain generation. A public blockchain is the permissionless disbursed ledger generation wherein every person can be a part of and do transactions.
It is a non-restrictive model, it is open source wherein every peer has a replica of the ledger. This additionally manner that every person can get entry to the general public blockchain in the event that they have a web connection.
One of the primary public blockchains that have been launched to the general public changed into the bitcoin public blockchain. It enabled every person linked to the net to do transactions in a decentralized manner.
The verification of the transactions is carried out via consensus strategies which include Proof-of-Work(PoW), Proof-of-Stake(PoS), and so on. At the cores, the taking part nodes require to do the heavy-lifting, such as validating transactions to make the general public blockchain work. If a public blockchain doesn’t have the desired friends taking part in fixing transactions, then it turns into non-functional. There also are distinct styles of blockchain systems that use those diverse styles of blockchain because the base in their project. However, every platform introduces greater functions in its platform other than the standard ones.
Advantages
Public blockchains benefits:
-Anyone can be a part of the general public blockchain.
-It brings trust to all users in the network.
-Public blockchain requires no intermediaries to work.
-Public blockchains are also secure depending on the number of participating nodes.
-It brings transparency because blockchain is open ledger of information.
There are multiple use-cases of the public blockchain
-Voting: Governments can do voting through public blockchain employing transparency and trust.
-Fundraising: Companies or initiatives can make use of the public blockchain for improving transparency and trust.
The most popular and the most decentralised blockchain in the world is Bitcoin.
PRIVATE BLOCKCHAIN
A private blockchain permissioned or centralised ledger is one of the many types of blockchain technology.
Private blockchain can be best defined as the blockchain that operates in a restrictive environment/closed network and technically they are centralised ledger and is
It is also a licensed blockchain that is under the control of an entity.
Private blockchains / centralised ledgers are ideal for use in a business or private organization that wishes to use them for internal use cases. By doing so, it is possible to efficiently use the blockchain and allow only selected participants to access the centralised ledger network. The organization can also set various parameters for the network, including accessibility, permission, etc.
So how does it differ from a public blockchain?
It’s different in the way you connect, it offers the same set of features as that of the public blockchain, providing transparency, trust and security to the selected participants.
Another big difference is that it is somewhat centralized because only one authority controls the network. Therefore, they do not have a decentralized theoretical character. There are also different types of blockchain platforms that use private blockchains as the basis of their platform. Additionally, each of them tends to be unique and offer different characteristics.
In many cases, a private blockchain is considered an authorized blockchain. But the concept of authorized blockchain is much broader because it can also include public blockchain.
Advantages
- Private blockchains are fast. This is because there are few participants compared to the public blockchain. In short, it takes less time for the network to reach consensus, which results in faster transactions.
- Private blockchains are more scalable. possible because only a few nodes are authorized to validate transactions in a private blockchain. That is, it doesn’t matter whether the network grows; The private blockchain will work at its previous speed and efficiency. The key here is the centralization aspect of decision making.
CONS
- Private blockchains / centralised ledgers are opposite of decentralized Blockchain.
This is one of the major drawbacks of the centralised ledger and goes against the core philosophy of distributed ledger technology or blockchain in general.
- Achieving trust within the private blockchain is difficult as centralized nodes make the final call.
- It is important to understand that it is possible to lose security if a certain number of nodes become rogue and compromise the consensus method used by the private network.
- USE CASE
- Supply chain management: Organizations can deploy a private blockchain to manage their supply chain.
- Asset ownership: Assets can be tracked and verified using a private blockchain.
- Internal Voting: Private blockchain is also effective at internal voting.
Most popular Centralised ledger or Blockchain are Ripple XRP, Exonum, Quorum, EOS, NEO and Steller.
CONSORTIUM BLOCKCHAIN
Blockchain consortium represents one of the different types of blockchain technology.
A blockchain consortium (also known as federated blockchain) is a creative approach to solving the needs of organizations that require both public and private blockchain capabilities ,some aspects of organizations are made public while others remain private. Consensus procedures in a consortium blockchain are controlled by nodes set up in advance. In addition, although it is not accessible to the masses, it is still decentralized.
Consortium blockchain is managed by more than one organization, so there isn’t a single centralized earnings force here. To ensure proper functionality, the consortium has a validation node that can perform two functions, validate transactions and also initiate or receive transactions.
In comparison, the member node can receive or initiate transactions, in short, it offers all the properties of a private blockchain, including transparency, privacy and efficiency, without either party having the authority to consolidate.
Advantages
- It offers better customizability and control over resources.
- Consortium blockchains are more secure and have better scalability.
- More efficient compared to public blockchain networks.
- Works with well-defined governance structures.
- It offers access controls.
Disadvantages
- Even though it is secure, the whole network can be compromised due to the member’s integrity.
It is less transparent. - Regulations and censorship can have a huge impact on network functionality.
- It is also less anonymous compared to other types of blockchain.
Use cases of consortium blockchain
- Banking and payments: A group of banks can work together and create a consortium. They can decide the nodes that will validate transactions.
- Research: A consortium blockchain can be used to share research data and results.
Food tracking: It is also great for food tracking.
Examples of Consortium Blockchain: Marco Polo, Energy Web Foundation, Hyperledger, IBM Food Trust.
HYBRID BLOCKCHAIN
Hybrid blockchain is one of the different types of blockchain technology.
Hybrid blockchain can best be defined as a combination of a private and a public blockchain. You have use cases in an organization that doesn’t want to implement a private blockchain or a public blockchain and just wants to implement the best of both worlds.
Advantages
- It works in a closed ecosystem without everything having to be made public; the rules can be changed as needed
- Hybrid networks are also immune to 51% of attacks; provides privacy while staying connected to a public network.
- Good scalability compared to the public network.
CONS of Hybrid Blockchain
- It’s not completely transparent.
- Upgrading to the hybrid blockchain can be challenging.
- There are no incentives to participate and contribute to the network.
Use Cases:
- Real estate: You can use hybrid networks for real estate purposes where real-estate companies can use it to run their systems and use the public to show information to the public.
- Retail: Retail can also use the hybrid network to streamline their processes.
- Highly regulated markets: Hybrid blockchains are also ideal for highly regulated markets such as financial markets.
Hybrid blockchain example: Dragonchain, XinFin’s hybrid blockchain.
CONCLUSION
Public Blockchain Network are best solution.
As you already know, anyone can join public blockchains, and the information is available to everyone as well. This makes them ideal for organizations that thrive on TRUST and TRANSPARENCY.
This means that NGOs or social support groups can make the most out of the public-based blockchain.
Its public nature also means that it cannot be used for businesses in the private sector.
The reason behind it is that they need to keep their data private. Also, public blockchains can be expensive to manage as it requires nodes to act as a miner and run either Proof-of-Work(PoW) and Proof-of-Stack(PoS).
