were brought up together so often that the technologies seemed almost inseparable. But

經常被一起提起，這些技術似乎幾乎是不可分割的。但

the two things are not synonymous, and blockchain has potential uses far beyond bitcoin and

這兩件事並不是同義詞，區塊鏈的潛在用途遠遠超過了比特幣和。

other cryptocurrencies. So what exactly is blockchain, what can it be used for, and what's

其他加密貨幣。那麼，區塊鏈到底是什麼，它可以用來做什麼，又是什麼？

holding it back? To understand blockchain, first I want you

憋屈？要了解區塊鏈，首先我要你

to picture a ledger, like your bank statements. Your bank keeps track of every transaction

想象一個賬本，就像你的銀行對賬單。你的銀行記錄著每一筆交易

and how much money is coming into and going out of your accounts. It's also the central

以及有多少錢進入和離開你的賬戶。這也是中央

authority keeping track of everything. If there's a bank error in your favor and you

權威機構跟蹤一切。如果有一個銀行的錯誤對你有利，而你

collect $200, good for you! Actually, spending that money can be legally tantamount to theft…

收了兩百塊錢，好樣的!其實，花這些錢在法律上可以說是等同於盜竊... ...

so, maybe not. And if a decimal is misplaced or an autopayment is charged twice and your

所以，也許不是。如果一個小數點放錯了，或者自動付款被收取了兩次，而你的。

account is zeroed out, it can be a headache dealing with the bank to fix it.

帳戶歸零，與銀行打交道是一件很頭疼的事情，要解決這個問題。

Enter distributed ledger technology, or DLT. Rather than having just one authority keeping

進入分佈式賬本技術，或DLT。而不是隻由一個機構來保管

tabs on transactions, DLT is managed by an entire network of participants who all share

標籤交易，DLT由整個網絡的參與者管理，他們都分享了他們的經驗。

the ledger of transactions. If over half the systems on the network verify a transaction,

交易的分類賬。如果網絡上超過半數的系統對某項交易進行核查。

then it's approved. Records of multiple transactions form a block,

那麼它的準許。多個交易的記錄形成一個塊。

which is then added on top of previous blocks to form a chain, hence the name. Each block

然後再將其添加到之前的塊上形成一個鏈，是以被稱為 "鏈"。每個區塊

contains records of the transaction details, as well as a unique cryptographic “hash,”

包含交易細節的記錄，以及一個獨特的加密 "哈希"。

which is like an alphanumeric fingerprint plus the hash of the previous block in the

這就像一個字母數字指紋加上前一個區塊的哈希值一樣，在

chain. Altering the information of the block will

鏈。改變塊的資訊將

also generate a new hash, so tampering with a block earlier in the chain creates a mismatch

也會生成一個新的哈希值，所以在鏈上較早的區塊上做手腳會造成不匹配。

that invalidates all the blocks after it. While malicious hackers can quickly generate new

，使其之後的所有區塊無效。雖然惡意黑客可以快速生成新的

hashes for all the blocks in the chain to try and cover their tracks, the decentralized

鏈中所有區塊的哈希值，以試圖掩蓋他們的蹤跡，去中心化的。

nature of DLT makes their job more difficult. Remember over half of the systems keeping

DLT的性質使他們的工作更加困難。請記住，超過一半的系統保持

track of the ledger have to agree with any changes, so hackers would have to take control

賬本的跟蹤必須同意任何變化，所以黑客將不得不控制。

of 51 percent of the network to achieve their goal. Plus, some blockchains artificially

的51%的網絡來實現其目標。另外，一些區塊鏈人為地

increase the time it takes to generate new hashes, making the process of hacking multiple

增加了生成新哈希值所需的時間，使得黑客攻擊多個

blocks impractical. For example, Bitcoin's “proof-of-work” mechanism means new blocks

塊不切實際。例如，比特幣的 "工作證明 "機制意味著新的區塊

are added to the chain in 10 minute intervals. Basically, blockchain can be a way to get

每隔10分鐘就會被添加到鏈上。基本上，區塊鏈可以是一種讓你獲得

multiple parties that may not trust each other to share and agree on data. It's this peer-to-peer

多方可能不信任對方，無法共享和同意數據。正是這種點對點的

system that's made blockchain appealing for financial applications like Bitcoin and

系統，使區塊鏈對比特幣等金融應用具有吸引力。

other cryptocurrencies. But ironically, the same features that make it secure also make

其他加密貨幣。但具有諷刺意味的是，使其安全的相同特徵也使得

it impractical for many applications. Making every node in the network keep track

對於許多應用來說是不切實際的。讓網絡中的每個節點都跟蹤

of every transaction, plus intentionally slowing down the generation of hashes, means transactions

的每一筆交易，再加上故意放慢哈希的生成速度，意味著交易的。

can take an inconvenient amount of time. While a credit card company can handle well over

可能會花費不方便的時間。雖然信用卡公司可以處理好超過

a thousand transactions per second, bitcoin can't handle more than seven. Cryptocurrencies

每秒鐘一千筆交易，比特幣不能處理超過七筆。加密貨幣

are trying to find ways to speed up these transactions without compromising security,

正在努力尋找在不影響安全的情況下加快這些交易的方法。

which is a major hurdle. Still, there are other applications where

這是一個主要的障礙。不過，在其他應用中

a blockchain can come in handy, like tracking shipments. Some ports and shipping companies

區塊鏈可以派上用場，比如跟蹤貨物。一些港口和航運公司

are testing out DLT so everyone can securely track and monitor containers. After a batch

正在測試DLT，以便大家可以安全地跟蹤和監控容器。在一批

of lettuce was contaminated with E. coli, Walmart made produce providers use a distributed

生菜被大腸桿菌汙染，沃爾瑪讓農產品供應商使用了一種分佈式的大腸桿菌檢測系統。

ledger so they could automatically track exactly where all its produce came from and where

賬本，這樣他們就可以自動跟蹤所有產品的確切來源和位置。

it went. There are potential uses for the blockchain in healthcare, like managing data

它去了。區塊鏈在醫療領域有潛在的用途，比如管理數據。

in medical trials while maintaining anonymity. But the enthusiasm for blockchain has dimmed

在醫療試驗中，同時保持匿名性。但人們對區塊鏈的熱情已經減弱了

since the word entered the public lexicon a few years ago. As is typical with any emerging

自幾年前這個詞進入公眾詞彙以來，該詞就一直被人們津津樂道。正如任何新興的

technology, laws have lagged behind its development, making it hard to legally use blockchain applications,

技術，法律的發展滯後，使得區塊鏈應用很難合法使用。

especially across jurisdictions like is required for international finance. In some cases,

特別是跨司法管轄區，如國際金融所需。在某些情況下，

there is already other software that can do most of what blockchain does, just without

已經有其他軟件可以做到區塊鏈的大部分功能，只是沒有了

the security of a decentralized network. So, if security isn't a huge concern, there's

去中心化網絡的安全性。所以，如果安全不是一個很大的問題，那麼就會有

no need to adopt it. And smaller networks might not be that secure anyway, since it's

沒有必要採用。而且反正小的網絡可能也不是那麼安全，因為它是

easier for bad actors to take control of over 51 percent of the nodes. All this means that

壞人更容易控制超過51%的節點。所有這一切意味著

blockchain is a really cool and clever idea that just hasn't found its niche yet. Give

區塊鏈是一個很酷很聰明的想法，只是還沒有找到自己的定位。給

it a few years for the systems to advance and laws to mature... and you may one day

幾年的時間，制度的進步和法律的成熟... ... 你可能會有一天

be relying on blockchains without even realizing it.

正在不知不覺中依賴區塊鏈。

Some countries are trying to develop their own cryptocurrency, like China's digital

一些國家正在嘗試發展自己的加密貨幣，比如中國的數字

yuan. For more on their approach and what it could mean for cryptocurrencies as a whole

元。關於他們的做法及其對整個加密貨幣可能意味著什麼的更多資訊。

check out my video on it here. So, what do you think? Is blockchain worth the hassle?

查看我的視頻在這裡。那麼，你怎麼看？區塊鏈值不值得這麼麻煩？

Let us know in the comments below and thanks for watching Seeker. I'll see you next time.

在下面的評論中告訴我們，謝謝你看《尋人啟事》。我們下次再見。