We frequently associate blockchain with Bitcoin. However, blockchain technology extends beyond the realm of cryptocurrency. Blockchain is not limited to financial or banking transactions. In fact, transactions can be the movement of money, goods or secure data.
by Todd Garrigues director of partner sales programs at Intel
Intel works with partners and customers to solve challenges, empower businesses and bring value by advancing blockchain technology.
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a digital record like a traditional ledger. Individual transactions, each with a unique time stamp, are coupled with other transactions and built into blocks. When a block is complete, that gets a unique time stamp, too.
The block is then sent over the network and connects to other blocks, forming a chain. The links of the chain ensure its security and make information stored in the blockchain virtually tamper-proof.
Originally developed as part of the Bitcoin digital currency, blockchain establishes a decentralized framework for transactions. Instead of a central authority like a credit card clearing house, verification is decentralized and comes from the consensus of multiple users in the network.
Beyond crypto
Blockchain has the potential to transform the way enterprises, governments and consumers exchange data. It can facilitate secure and transparent tracking of assets and present opportunities to collaborate on shared business processes. Blockchain technology also provides enhanced security.
Intel processor technologies have unique capabilities that can improve the privacy, security, scalability and trust across blockchain networks. Intel® Software Guard Extensions (Intel SGX) are built into Intel® Xeon Scalable processors, making them an ideal foundation. Intel SGX keeps blockchain data encrypted until it is needed for a transaction. At that time, it is decrypted in a secure enclave where it is only viewable by permission.
The outlook for blockchain
Together with Microsoft, Intel is making blockchain easier for your data center customers to use. Microsoft’s recently announced Confidential Consortium Blockchain Framework (CoCo Framework) is meant to advance enterprise adoption of blockchain by making it ready for business. That means meeting the enterprise mandates of performance, governance and security.