Lapine's introduction to blockchain technology, written for a business leader audience and containing a few unconventional perspectives.

1. ©2018 Lapine Group. All rights reserved. This material contains confidential and proprietary information of the Lapine Group and may not be
reproduced, distributed or disclosed, in whole or in part, without its express consent.
Blockchains: an Introduction
10/4/2018
Chuck Bair, Partner

2. 1
Blockchain Fundamentals
For business managers, understanding the answer to four key questions can provide clarity on
the potential value and impact of blockchain technology on their industry.
What does a blockchain do?
SPECIFIC
CONCEPTUAL
PLATFORM APPLICATIONS
What are current examples
of blockchains in use?
What are expected future
uses for blockchains?
How does a blockchain work?

3. 2
Blockchains Clear and Record Transactions
What does a blockchain do?
Although the technologies that make blockchain networks work is complex, the fundamental
capability they deliver is relatively straightforward
Valid transactions are added to
digitally signed blocks that
form an immutable record of all
transactions ever processed.
Transactions can include:
• Exchanging digital currency
• Changing records of ownership
• Proving authenticity (similar to notarization)
• Smart contract execution
• Recording events in a secure manner
• Any other exchange that requires
authenticating identity and/or ownership
What makes blockchains special is that they can do
this without the need for a trusted 3rd party.
A blockchain network can
verify the digital identities of
parties to the transaction and
also verify the ownership of
any resources involved.

4. 3
Example: Eliminating Middlemen
As an example of eliminating 3rd parties, here is the high-level process for a payment by check
versus a similar blockchain payment.
Payer writes
check
Recipient deposits
at their bank
Recipient bank
makes pending credit
Check sent to reserve
bank or clearinghouse
Payer bank
deducts funds
Credit finalized when transaction is fully cleared
Payer submits
payment request to
blockchain network
If valid, the request is added to
a block of transactions waiting
to be added to the blockchain
Once the block is added to
the blockchain, the payment
is complete
CheckPaymentBlockchainPayment

5. 4
Current Blockchain Applications: Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies were the original use case for blockchains. Although there is much enthusiasm
and interest around other applications of the technology, few ideas are actually in use and none
have yet come close to the transaction levels of major cryptos.
Ethereum is newer and already handling more
transactions – at it’s peak it topped 1.3mm per day
Bitcoin launched in 2009 and now handles
hundreds of thousands of transactions per day.
Although there have been high-profile thefts and user errors, no major cryptocurrency
blockchain has ever been directly hacked.
Charts provided by Blockchain.com, Etherscan.io
However, several popular cryptocurrency blockchains have encountered scaling issues.
The communities that support them are working to address the problem.

6. 5
Are Cryptocurrencies Really Money?
The answer to this question depends greatly on how we define money. It is a provocative
question, but it is important to remember that the terminology we use will have no effect on the
current or future uses of cryptocurrencies.
Definitions of Money Cryptocurrency Fit
Medium of Exchange
“whatever can be used to settle payments”
Unit of Accounting
“a way to set prices”
Store of Value
“preserve purchasing power for the future”
Note that cryptocurrencies are not a complete financial or banking
system on their own. They are the digital equivalent of physical cash.
Legal Tender
“medium of payment recognized by law”
Intrinsic Value
“worth something on its own”
Scarce Resource
“there is a limited amount available”
Yes: Although use is relatively limited, cryptocurrencies have
been used as a means of payment
Maybe: Currently, where cryptocurrency is used for payment
prices are usually tied to a national currency. There are
exceptions, but thus far none have not demonstrated stable value.
Maybe: Cryptocurrencies have proven to be robust in terms of
securing balances, but their “exchange” values fluctuate wildly
and their future stability and worth is unknown.
No: No cryptocurrency is yet recognized as a medium of payment
by the government of any major economy. (Although many are
considering issuing their currencies on a blockchain in the future.)
Maybe: As with all post-gold-standard currencies, the value of a
cryptocurrency is mostly based on recognition and scarcity. But,
some like Ether also provide access to blockchain services.
Yes: The supply for most cryptocurrencies is tightly controlled by
blockchain code, and protected from tampering by consensus
requirements.

7. 6
Expected Future Uses for Blockchains
As of now, there are very few examples of blockchains in use beyond supporting
cryptocurrencies. However, there is a high level of interest and exploratory activity across a
range of functions and sectors.
Privacy-centric Digital Identities
Meet Know Your Customer and similar
requirements without requiring participants
to directly provide personal information.
Digital Records of Ownership
Manage ownership records for intangible
assets like stock shares and of physical
assets through tokenization
Social Media & Internet of Things
Large-scale sharing of personal data while
leaving individuals in control of access
Smart Contracts
Contracts written as code that is
automatically executed by the
blockchain when conditions are met
Decentralized Exchanges
Allow participants to directly buy and sell
digital assets without the need for an
exchange or related services
Auditing / Regulatory Compliance
Provide a single source of records and enable
real-time compliance and auditing capabilities
Voting
Highly secure and low-cost platform for
voting, potentially for public sector
elections and for corporate governance.
Supply Chain
Blockchains have the potential to
facilitate financing and validate the
authenticity of products

8. 7
How Blockchains Work: Supporting Technologies
Blockchain technology was invented to support the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. It combined a set of
existing technologies and concepts to deliver a secure yet fully decentralized infrastructure.
Open-source code
Private Key Cryptography
Hash Functions
Peer-to-peer Networking
Low-cost Data Storage
Any participant can review the code for the blockchain
to verify that it will behave as promised.
The blockchain code runs on multiple computers called
nodes which synchronize with each other meaning that
if any node attempts to alter data the others will detect
and reject the discrepancy.
The easy availability of high-capacity storage enables each
node to store the entire transaction history of the
blockchain, allowing transactions and balances to be
audited by any participant.
Access to balances and other privileges on the blockchain
are based on addresses, which are publicly visible, and
private keys which prove that a particular participant owns
each address.
Agreements are processed in batches called blocks. Each
block is ”signed” using a one-way hash function which ties
it to all prior blocks to prevent tampering.

9. 8
How Blockchains Work: Transaction Flow
Users of blockchains submit cryptographically signed transaction requests which are verified by
nodes on the blockchain network and then executed in sets called “blocks”.
Create and sign a transaction
request, e.g. “Send 23
LapineCoins to address xyz123”
Verify that the
signature is authentic
Verify that the sender has
an adequate balance
Add the transaction request to
the current block of transactions
that are waiting to be signed
Nodes compete to sign the block by solving a
cryptographic puzzle. The winning node
shares the signed block of transactions with
the peer-to-peer network making the new
transactions part of the blockchain history
BlockchainParticipantBlockchainNodes
Mining/Forging
Node