Also, blockchains can have a variety of APIs, including a transaction scripting language, a P2P nodes communications API, and a client API to check transactions on the network.

The blockchain is part database, part development platform, part network enabler, so we need many instances of it and variations thereof. As an overlay on top of the Internet, blockchains can take many forms of implementations. Blockchains can be seen as a trust layer, an exchange medium, a secure pipe, a set of decentralized capabilities, and even

Using Guardtime’s large scale keyless data authentication, in combination with a distributed ledger, citizens carry their ID credentials which unlock access to their healthcare records in real-time.

The blockchain attacks some old intermediaries: central counterparty clearinghouses, notaries, escrow services, and any services with a built-in trust component. While the blockchain chips away at some functions from these existing intermediaries, it also enables the creation of new players.

A decentralized scheme (which blockchain protocols are based on), transfers authority and trust to a decentralized virtual network, and enables its nodes to continuously and sequentially record transactions on a public “block,” creating a unique “chain,” the blockchain. Each successive block contains a “hash” (a unique fingerprint) of the previous

Blockchains also enable assets and value to be exchanged, providing a new, speedy rail for moving value of all kinds without unnecessary intermediaries.

Proving that something has happened will be served by blockchains. There will be millions of such cases, with access rivalling the way we google for information.

Trust can be achieved by increasing transparency requirements, namely by sharing identity and reputation information.

So, the blockchain is like a networked infrastructure of computing machinery. With that in mind, we could easily imagine how computer programs can run on this new infrastructure.