Blockchains and privacy

Blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that records financial transactions between peers in a network, enabling the safe exchange of money or other valuables between parties and reducing the need for intermediaries. In its public version, blockchain enables transactions that have been recorded to be accessible in practically a real-time basis - e.g. Bitcoin blockchain. It is also possible to have private/permissioned blockchains (such the one used by JP Morgan for its JP Coin) where access to the blockchain and any recorded transaction can only be accessed by those entities that have been invited to do so. Listed below is brief summary of some of the terminologies used when discussing blockchain networks:

·      decentralised, distributed network: no central authority controls the network, and it is spread out over an extensive network.

·      immutable ledger: once a network block is made, it cannot be changed.

·    consensus-based mechanism: users of a blockchain agree on the legit…