Blockchain
A blockchain is a shared ledger kept simultaneously by many computers that cannot be altered after the fact.
Explained simply
Picture a ledger where entries can only be appended, never deleted or overwritten. Each new page (a "block") points to the page before it. That creates a chain, hence the name.
What makes it special: this ledger does not sit with one bank or authority. Identical copies live on thousands of computers worldwide. All of them check every new entry, and only once the majority agrees does it become permanent.
That is why a blockchain needs no middleman everyone has to trust. The trust is built into the procedure itself.
From the familiar world
A land registry is a central record: one office keeps it and everyone trusts that office. A blockchain is a land registry that every notary in the world keeps at the same time, where an entry only counts once the others confirm it.
An example
The Bitcoin blockchain has been running without interruption since January 2009. Every Bitcoin transfer ever made is still publicly visible today.
Why it matters
Blockchain is the base technology behind Bitcoin, tokenisation and digital securities. Once you see it as a "shared, tamper-proof register", it becomes clear why banks, exchanges and asset managers are experimenting with it.
To pass on
„A blockchain is a ledger kept jointly by thousands of computers. That is why nobody can cheat in it alone.“
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