An Examination of the Blockchain, the Emerging Technology that Promises to Transform Digital Tracking of Assets

Blockchain, introduced as the underlying technology supporting the Bitcoin cryptocurrency, is quickly taking hold as a trusted and secure platform for recording the transfer of all types of assets of value in the digitized networked world. While often described simplistically as a distributed ledger system, the blockchain is a complex technology that integrates peer-to-peer networking, public-key/private-key cryptography, and distributed consensus based on the resolution of a mathematical challenge. Even as use cases for the blockchain proliferate across a variety of industries, the technology is still not well understood by most business executives, scholars, and technologists. This tutorial provides participants with a foundational understanding of how the blockchain works, explores its potential and limitations, examines research strategies that will expand understandings of the technology and speculates on the progressive adoption of the blockchain as a disruptive technology