Introduction to Blockchain Technology by Dr. Suneth Pathirana, PhD

1. Edited by Suneth Pathirana, PhD
1Edited by:
Dr. Suneth Pathirana, PhD
Department of Computer Science and Informatics
Uva Wellassa University

2. § With knowledge contribution of the following Resource Persons:
§ Mr. Chim Hinidumage
§ CEO/Co-Founder Fidenz Technologies
§ Dr. Chandana Gamage
§ Senior Lecturer, Department of Computer Science &Engineering, University of Moratuwa
§ Dr. Srinath Perera
§ WSO2 Technologies
§ Dr. Kutila Gunasekara
§ Senior Lecturer, University of Moratuwa
§ Moderated by:
§ Dr. Chandra Embuldeniya
§ Chairman,Working Committee on Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Education
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3. §Blockchain technology was created for the digital cryptocurrency
bitcoin in 2008
§ Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency
§However, its applications are much wider than digital currency
§Probably “the next big thing” in applied sciences
§Will acquire the attention somewhat similar to:
§ Quantum Computers
§ IoT
§ AI
§Marc Andreessen called Blockchain “one of the most important
technologies since the advent of the Internet.”
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4. §Blockchain is a distributed database that provides an
unalterable public record of digital transactions
§It can be viewed as a distributed digital ledger containing a
chain of blocks information, where each block is identified by
a cryptographic signature
§These blocks are all back-linked
§ They refer to the signature of the previous block in the chain, and that
chain can be traced all the way back to the very first block created
§As such, the Blockchain contains an un-editable record of all
the transactions made
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5. §Foster Trust
§ Citizens do expect the trustworthiness from their government
§Avoid Coercion
§ Coercion is the action or practice of persuading someone to do something
by using force or threats
§Improve Efficiency
§ Example:Tracking the stages of S/W lifecycle (Cross-validate
Dependencies,Third-party Libraries, Frameworks, etc.)
§Collaboration
§ Example: A building construction (many parties have to collaborate)
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6. § A shop that sells Organic Foods
§ Has to ensure that each product supplied by different supplier is truly
organic
§ Means has not used any synthetic fertilizer / weedicide / pesticide during cultivation
§ And preserved quality without applying any artificial preservatives (chemicals)
§ Has to rely upon the trust on the each step of the supply chain
§ Therefore:
§ Supply chain visibility is important
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7. § As the background Knowledge, we need to understand Some technical terms…
§Hashing
§Transaction & Block
§Block Hash
§Blockchain Ledger
§Node
§Mining
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8. §Output in Fixed Length
§Irreversible..!
§Examples of Hash Algorithms
§ MD5
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9. § Set of transactions performed during a time duration
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Transactions
performed
by John Smith
during last 5
min.s

10. §Hash(“block_data” + Nonce) = 0xf47b123e67c…93d
§Nonce is nothing but, some Random bits
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Hash of the
Previous
Block
Some
Transactions
Nonce+ +

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Header
Transactions
Nonce
Prev. Block
Header

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Ledger

13. §Private
§Public
§Hybrid
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14. §In cryptocurrency networks, mining is a validation
of transactions
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15. Edited by Suneth Pathirana, PhD 15Merkle root? See Next Slide

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§A Merkle root is the hash of all the hashes of all the
transactions that are part of a block in a blockchain
network

17. §For the ease of understanding (only), just replace the
Merkle Root with some Transactions…
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Transactions Transactions Transactions

18. §Consensus
§ Consensus a general agreement, somewhat like protocol
§No central authority
§ A computer program is responsible for authenticating
§No intermediaries
§No single-point failure
§Tampering (unauthorized altering of data) proof
§Low transaction cost
§Borderless transactions
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19. § Insurance
§ Finance
§ Fraud detection
§ Copyright protection
§ Smart contracts
§ Identity management
§ E-commerce
§ Healthcare
§ Higher education
§ Ex.Track student credentials and achievements in a cheap, secure, reliable and
public way
§ Applicable for Almost All Domains…! (No Limitations)
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20. § To check the originality of a document
§ Example: Passport
§ Each time you obtain new visa, travel abroad and accept foreign currency
from bank, the document is moderated
§ Land Registration
§ Owner / Boundaries might be changed, hence need to to be
updated
§ Registration of Motor Vehicle (RMV) / CR
§ Vehicle import docs (often subject to tamper in SL)
§ Public Beneficiaries i.e. Samurdhi, Mahapola, UPF, EPF/ETF
§ Certificate Verifications i.e Birth, Marriage, death
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21. §Who accepts payments using Bitcoin?
§Microsoft
§AT & T
§Burger King
§KFC
§Subway
§Norwegian Airlines
§And many more…
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§Healthcare
§ Examples: e-Estonia
§Land registration
§ Georgia
§ Andhra Pradesh, India
§ UK / Dubai
§Supply Chain Management
§ IBM Food Trust
§ Fish Industry
§ Example: Bait to Plate
§Many IoT apps

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§Healthcare
§ Examples: e-Estonia
§ https://e-estonia.com/solutions/healthcare/e-health-record/

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§Land registration
§ Georgia
§ They were not
happy with the
One-Day Service
§ What about Sri
Lanka?

28. §Digital Gift-Vouchers by Sampath Bank
§VirtualWallet by DFCC Bank (Not Sure!)
§Dynamic (Radio) Spectrum Allocation by University of
Moratuwa
§ Concept Somewhat Similar to Cognitive Radio
§ Cognitive Radio (CR) is an adaptive, intelligent radio and network
technology that can automatically sense (detect) available
channels in a wireless spectrum and change transmission
parameters enabling more communications to run concurrently and
also improve radio operating behavior
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29. §Smart Contracts
§ A smart contract is a self-executing contract with the terms of the
agreement between buyer and seller being directly written into lines
of code
§ The code and the agreements contained therein exist across a
distributed, decentralized blockchain network
§ The code controls the execution, and transactions are trackable and
irreversible
§ Blockchain and distributed ledger solutions to address pain points
that include data reconciliation, clearance, and settlement
§ Major global banks and financial intermediaries are working closely
with blockchain companies using the new technology to revamp
legacy systems and infrastructure
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30. §Note:This is NOT a Comprehensive Lecture Note
§Consult the Resource Persons who contributed to compile
this knowledge for further reference
§Or feel free to contact me on:
§suneth@uwu.ac.lk
§+94 777777682 (WhatsApp /Viber)
§+94 777170040
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