Blockchain: A Review Study of Protocols and Enterprise Frameworks

Buying and selling goods and services online is in vogue these days which involves business transactions conducted online. All this needs the security of the parties involved in the transaction against tampering, fraud, and cybercrime. A blockchain is a global decentralized ledger for maintaining the records of cryptocurrency transactions. Blocks, in a blockchain, store the pieces of information about the transactions and the participants. Blocks also store cryptographic codes known as hashes for identification purposes. When a block has some information, it is then added to the blockchain. But before the addition, the transactions must be validated. All the participants settle upon a common consensus algorithm for the addition of the block. These consensuses can either be proof-based consensus or enterprise-based consensus. In the proof-based consensus, the nodes have to provide the other participants with proofs according to t the protocol being followed. In the enterprise- based consensus, the participants chose their trusted delegates and these delegates work in the blockchain for the nodes which have chosen them. The blockchain may perform better if a suitable consensus mechanism is chosen. The suitability of a consensus mechanism varies from application to application. This paper provides a review of the most popular consensus models used in the blockchain environment.