The advent of Bitcoin has laid the foundation for the development of the underlying technology of its underlying protocol, which is the blockchain.
Innovation continues, and people have discovered the potential of this technology and are exploring its possible applications in various industries.
With the emergence of the emerging application of NFT, the underlying technology blockchain used by it has been brought to the public again.
In fact, with the development of blockchain technology, the type of blockchain has also changed.
At present, there are four main types of blockchain networks, which are public chain, private chain, hybrid chain and alliance chain. Today, this article will take you to understand the difference between various types of blockchains.
What is Public Blockchain
A public chain, as the name suggests, is an unlimited blockchain network, which means that anyone can join at any time, and anyone can see the ledger and participate in its consensus process.
All you need is a computer with internet access to access the network, and then you can start sending transactions that are validly confirmed by the blockchain.
At present, the well-known Ethereum that provides the main underlying technology for NFT casting is a typical public chain application, and the blockchain starts from the public chain.
Public blockchain networks utilize Proof of Work (PoW) or Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus algorithms to verify transactions. In the public chain architecture, people can download the protocol at any time, and the public chain is permissionless, which means that no one's permission is required to join and interact with the network.
Public blockchains are the perfect model to greatly benefit the tech industry, and public blockchains are decentralized, with no single entity running the network. In addition, the data on the public chain is secure and transparent. Once the data is verified on the blockchain, it cannot be modified or changed, and the data on the chain is made public by default.
Public chain features OBSERVE
Anyone can get involved.
Public chains are decentralized.
Public chains offer orders of magnitude lower transaction throughput than private chains.
Compared with private chains, public chains have fewer transactions per second and slower transaction speeds.
In a public chain, a central authority needs to be granted access to oversee the entire network.
What is Private Blockchain
A private chain, as you can probably guess from the literal meaning, is a permissioned blockchain that is only open to a single individual or organization.
In other words, anyone who wants to join the network must obtain permission from the blockchain’s centralized administrator, which the public cannot access arbitrarily.
Private chains require an invitation and are only known to the individuals involved in the transaction, anyone managing the private chain network can change or edit any transaction as they see fit.
The private chain can determine which users have write, read, and audit permissions. At the same time, in the private chain platform, users can obtain rules that other platforms do not have. Therefore, all nodes must adhere to some regulations to ensure proper flow.
Private chains are generally used in private enterprises, where enterprises can manage a series of operations performed by employees. A private chain allows faster transactions and is more efficient to maintain. A private chain is a centralized distributed storage database.
However, private blockchains may face a higher risk of fraud, such as being vulnerable to hacking, data breaches or data manipulation, which can easily compromise the entire network. As the world-renowned rating agency Moody’s mentioned in a report on the application of blockchain in the securities sector released in 2019:
Private (centralized) chains are more susceptible to fraud risks because their system design and governance are centralized in the hands of one or several parties. This is a key issue of risk control in blockchain governance. In this case, only those private chains with clearer governance structures and accountability distribution systems are the real winners.
Private chain features OBSERVE
Complete privacy.
high efficiency.
more stable.
low cost.
What is Consortium Blockchain
The consortium chain is also a blockchain that requires permission, but unlike the private chain, it is jointly managed by multiple organizations or institutions. Each organization or institution manages one or more nodes, and its data is only allowed within the system. Different institutions do read, write and send transactions.
Each node of the consortium chain usually has a corresponding entity organization, which can only join or leave the network after authorization. Various institutions and organizations form stake-related alliances to jointly maintain the healthy operation of the blockchain.
In fact, the consortium chain can be regarded as a cluster composed of multiple private chains. On a private blockchain, there is only one centralized manager, while on a consortium chain, multiple organizations or institutions jointly manage the platform.
In order to allow multiple participants to cooperate equally instead of being exclusively controlled by one party, the alliance chain abandons the complete decentralization of the public chain and the single centralization of the private chain, and instead adopts partial decentralization (also known as semi-decentralization). )Structure. The Ant Chain used by Alipay WhaleTalk and the Zhixin Chain used by Tencent Magic Core belong to the alliance chain.
Consortium chains allow new users to join established structures and share information. When problems arise, consortium organizations work together to find solutions, which saves time and development costs.
Consortium chain features OBSERVE
Semi-decentralized: The alliance chain is only owned by members within the alliance to a certain extent, and it is easy to reach a consensus because of the limited number of nodes.
Strong controllability: Instead of being controlled by a single entity, the blockchain platform is managed by multiple specific entity participants.
Security: The information on the platform is private and will not be disclosed by default. Only members of the alliance have access.
What is Hybrid Blockchain
Hybrid chain is a unique blockchain technology. It combines the characteristics of public chain and private chain, and makes use of the respective characteristics of public chain and private chain to combine into the best solution, that is to say, hybrid chain has both public chain and private chain. The chain has two states.
Transactions and records in the hybrid chain are private, but can be verified when required, such as by enabling access via smart contracts. That is, private information is kept within the network but still verifiable.
Although a private entity may own a hybrid chain, it cannot alter transactions. Hybrid chains allow organizations to build a private, permissioned system alongside a public permissionless system, with both public and private chains doing their part, deciding who can access specific data stored on the blockchain and which data will be made public .
When users join the Hybrid Chain, they have full access to the network, and the user's identity is protected from other users unless they participate in a transaction, so that their identity is not revealed to each other.
Hybrid chain features OBSERVE
Hybrid chains can both protect privacy and communicate with third parties. External hackers cannot launch a 51% attack on the network because the hybrid chain operates in a closed ecosystem.
- A 51% attack is a potential crisis for Bitcoin (or other blockchain networks) whereby a single unit or organization can control most of the computing power, causing network disruption.
Transactions in hybrid chains are cheap and fast, and can result in better scalability than public chains.
Hybrid chains, despite being private, still provide integrity, security, and transparency. Likewise, hybrid chains can be fully customized.
In terms of transaction visualization, it can be determined according to needs. Hybrid chain members can choose participants in the blockchain or decide which transactions can be made public. This guarantees a good cooperation between the company and its shareholders.