Description
This article explains what a Blockchain is.
Purpose
Gala Games and Entertainment uses blockchain technology to give gamers ownership of in-game items. Knowing what this technology is can help a person better understand how they can own part of a game.
Assumptions Made
This article assumes the reader knows:
Summary
A blockchain is a system of recorded transactions maintained across several computers linked together in a peer-to-peer network. A peer-to-peer network comprises individual computers that communicate with one another rather than with a single entity.
A network controlled by a single entity would be similar to purchasing at a grocery store. After putting all of their items into their shopping cart, a customer would go to the cash register and have their items scanned into the computer. All purchased items are cataloged on a receipt; This receipt includes information such as the time and date of the purchase, the price of each item, and any other information the store may wish to include. This information is stored in a database, but it is private to the company.
The retailer keeps their information stored on private, centrally controlled servers. This means that the public cannot audit any transactions, which means fraud is possible.
Blockchain projects, such as Bitcoin, fix these issues by handling transactions in a decentralized and public way. Computers all across the world process transactions on different, decentralized projects. These transactions are accepted by their network and typically have to be approved by the 51% majority of devices on the network. This prevents a single entity from changing or deleting transactions on the network.
Public transactions allow anyone to look at and audit a transaction and determine whether it is legitimate. They are the source of truth in this decentralized network.
Ethereum is another example of a blockchain. This blockchain handles the processing for the $GALA token, including any NFT items in the Gala Games and Entertainment ecosystem. Ethereum Nodes across the world run on computers and secure the Ethereum blockchain. The owners that run these nodes are paid a "gas fee," determined by how complex a contract program is to run. A gas fee is set by the Ethereum network and is separate from Gala Games and Entertainment.