Blockchain 1.0, the first iteration of blockchain technology, was used solely for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It’s a public ledger of all transactions in a given system that has ever been executed. It can thus provide insight into facts like how much value belonged to a particular address at any point in history.
All confirmed transactions are included as so-called “blocks” in the chain. The blockchain serves as a historical record of all transactions that ever occurred, from the genesis block to the latest block, hence the name blockchain. The most important feature of a cryptocurrency is that any central authority does not control it.
Blockchain 1.0 comprises three technologies:
Public-key cryptography: A cryptographic method that enables users to securely send and receive data while keeping the contents hidden from everyone except the sender and intended recipient of the information
A Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network: A network where nodes are equal peers, with no node having more power over another node on the network
A distributed database: A database that runs on multiple locations but appears as a single database to users.