Blockchain explained to your grandparents

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This is the first of a series of blogposts exploring tech topics and making them accessible
to anyone, thanks to STATION F entrepreneurs. Spot our techxplanation tag on
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Nakamoto in 2008 to serve as the public transaction ledger of the cryptocurrency

bitcoin.The invention of the blockchain for bitcoin made it the first digital currency to
solve the double-spending problem without the need of a trusted authority or central

Good luck explaining that to your lovely grandpa or grandma and getting away with it.
STATION F entrepreneurs, to the rescue!
The startups that are part of our startup program dedicated to Blockchain,
called ChainAcc, dissect the concept and explain it to you in normal human words. Read
on!
What is decentralisation?
Blockchain is the child of a decentralized web. But what the hell does
SkillZ explains it all.
decentralisation. FYI: Blockchain is not a
synonym for decentralisation. Decentralisation is the mother of blockchain. Just the way
science is mother of biology.
Organisations around the world are embracing the blockchain movement / web3.0
revolution / decentralisation wave with great celerity. But why? What are these words?
Why do they matter?

for food to feed your family. But you need some new tools to hunt. So you ask your friend
(who is also from the Stone Age) to lend you some spears. You and your friend both make

about this.
Now imagine, there is a hunter club in which hunters of an area take part to act as
witnesses. All the hunter-me
This now means that:
1.
caught
2.
well as spears because every hunter in the club knows about the exchange
3. Or any other sort of bamboozling would be caught
4. If you want this exchange to be private, you can use stone age sign language
(known as cryptography in 21st century)
Inferences drawn from this example:
1.

even a digital database

2. Malefactor practices would be conspicuous
3. Nobody has to appoint a separate person to keep track of all the exchanges
(No 3rd party/centralised party)
This is decentralisation! All data/knowledge/information is spread throughout. Everyone

Love the analogy with the Flintstones, SkillZ!

From a historical standpoint, the web has always been centralized. Which means that
websites and services all come from centralized servers according to Blockchain
advocates, this presents a greater risk for corruption or hack (ie: if you hack the server,
you hack it all!)

This is what a transaction looks like using the Internet today. Dave is your bank. You trust him.

decentralized.. This
makes it virtually impossible to hack, corrupt, or as the SkillZ team puts it, bamboozle.
This is what a transaction looks like on the blockchain. Registered and verified by all those who
have synced copies of the same ledger. More about ledgers just below.

empower employees to create their own corporate identities whilst protecting their
privacy at all times. We also want to bring more transparency into the HR world, and

What is a ledger?
Now we know what decentralization means, the most obvious use for
Blockchain is: transactions. No more centralized banks, welcome to ledgers.
Oh wait, Poi is here to explain.

activities, and money received or paid. It can have many forms an

and different supports.
From paper book to a digital file, it has evolved through time.
From a Blockchain perspective, a ledger is a shared and reliable database used to keep

In other words, a (blockchain) ledger is where all transactions that ever happened are
recorded. Access and management to the ledger is shared across the whole decentralized
network, therefore virtually incorruptible.
Poi aims to take advantage of this new form of ledger to bring transparency and control
to its users willing to spend their money in a impactful and meaningful way.
What is cryptography? What are public/private keys?
When transactions are written in a ledger, it is made secure thanks to
done inside a crypt.
Just kidding.
BCDiploma, the solution to certify diplomas and
professional experiences on the blockchain, tells you what it is.
ks group with a focus about the privacy,
cryptography is the link among all the innovations that found blockchain solutions.
Cryptography is the science of encrypting and decrypting information, to:
- Protect confidentiality, authenticity and integrity of information for secure
communication;
- Prevent third parties from reading private messages;
Cryptography is mainly based on mathematical theory and computer science practices.
Two dominant techniques are used in modern cryptography:
1) Symmetric cryptography algorithm
This technique relies on a unique key to encrypt and decrypt data, shared between all
users which need to access informations.
2) Asymmetric cryptography algorithm
Each user owns a private key that must be kept secret, and a public key shared with all
users. These 2 keys are mathematically linked. Public key is used to encrypt data, when
private key allows to decode it.
Source: Cryptocrats
Blockchain technology uses this public/private key pair to sign transactions (which is
nothing other than a message) and to ensure this signature is valid, in a 2
2-step
2-step operation:
1. A signature is established by encrypting a message using a key pair
2. A validation key is calculated from the signature and the message
If this validation key is equal to the public key that signed the message, then the

Here we are: we have a decentralized system where transactions and messages are
recorded on a ledger, encrypted using keys.
By the way: BCDiploma.com, uses the highest cryptography standards to ensure the
confidentiality of your private data!
What are cryptocurrencies?
Wait a second, we are talking about a ton of technical terms here, but

Daneel is the go-to expert about cryptocurrencies, and tells you what they
are.
 Bitcoin. It allows users to
trade value through a decentralised network of computers that protect security and
anonymity. The lack of a centralised authority hands the control back to users.
Other cryptocurrencies have now emerged which act similarly, but can have different
applications. For example, Ethereum focuses on running programs as decentralized

Want to look into it? Thanks to Daneel, your intelligent assistant, you will be assisted on
a daily basis in all questions of this type. Daneel will allow you every day to learn

What is a token economy?

Tribute is a startup that helps companies create tokens. And

they explain how it works.
-powered, decentralized applications.
Such applications are meant to serve the interests of an ecosystem, rather than being
controlled and used for the sole benefit of a company.
The token economy enables the coordination of multiple agents within the ecosystem:
tokens are simultaneously used to access, provide, secure, and govern the service of the

Going back to Tribute: the startup enables any organization to create their own tokens to
foster their contributive token economy: independent workers, partners, users, and
customers can be rewarded with tokens for their participation in the long-term creation
of value initiated by companies.
What is an ICO?
Now one might wonder: I know about my crypto, I know about my token,
but how are they created? This is when you need to learn about ICOs,
with CareGame.

stock market nerds), even if there are many differences between the two mechanisms.
An ICO happens when an organization offers to sell a coin (or token) it has issued for a
future use. If well delivered, it helps the organization get funding and visibility.
phor:
Imagine a group of friends (a company) who wants to start a carnival. They want to
innovate, create a special carnival that is unlike any other. To finance its development,
the manufacture of the facilities and all the associated services, they have the idea of
issuing tokens, which will later be used to access the super attractions they have built. By
convincing enough people to buy these tokens that will have future value, they can raise
enough funds to develop the project, and at the same time attract their first future
customers, who will be eager to be able to use their tokens.
An ICO is exactly this operation of issuing tokens and selling them publicly on the
market, except that tokens are crypto
crypto-assets rather than physical plastic chips.
We have taken here the example of a very bricks & mortar centralized business, but for
the ICOs, the mechanics apply rather to digital activities, where the services are
sometimes even decentralized, and operated by a great diversity of stakeholders. The
blockchain makes the operation safer, more transparent, and international!
As an example, back in July 2013, Ethereum raised 3,700 Bitcoin durings its first 12

building a huge onl

CareGame
year, even if for now we focus on developing the beta-version of our solution first! Our
ambition is to allow any mobile player to access from any smartphone a large catalog of
games, without any download thanks to a mobile cloud gaming service. We want to build
the future of mobile gaming, with a mission of solidarity: we increase the share of

What is an exchange?
With many ICOs, there are many tokens you can get. Therefore, you need a
place to get them. Gatecoin is a Bitcoin and Ethereum token exchange
designed for both professional traders and retail investors, and they explain

EUR, USD) or
crypto (e.g. Bitcoin, Ethereum) currencies for crypto currencies. The exchange is a
gateway to blockchain, as it enables people to convert part of their fiat currencies into
Yes, it looks like that. But you get used to it.
What are Bitcoin and Ether?
The two biggest tokens there are out there right now are Bitcoin and Ether.
And they are very different, as Gimli explains.
is a form of electronic cash with a public ledger accessible for anyone to see. The
only thing you need is a computer and an internet connection to access this public ledger.
ed, digital

date, it
Can you buy stuff with Bitcoin? The answer is yes. As long as it is a means of exchange
that is trusted by a group of people, then it can be used for transactions. You can use
Bitcoin on Ex

Bitcoin digital currency. Through the Ether currency, you have the possibility to create
digital applications that
Ether is indeed the currency linked with the Ethereum project: its goal is to add a
technical layer to blockchain so that developers can build applications on top of it very
easily, kind of like they do with the regular web. The success of the Ethereum project has
propelled Ether at the second place on the cryptocurrency market.
Actually, Gimli is decentralized platform to empower the
eSports community. We believe esports & Blockchain will be a social and decentralized
ecosystem. eSports streamers are gamers that broadcast their screen live on a streaming

Ok
about the ChainAccelerator and discover more Blockchain startups? Go check out their
website and upcoming events!
See you soon for a new episode of Techxplanation!

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https://medium.com/station-f/blockchain-explained-to-your-grandparents-c7fe71a9a339