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"The data collected by Facebook feeds Cambridge Analytica's micro-tracking studies." It was 2018, and Mark Zuckerberg had just been sued for having sold user data to the British company Cambridge Analytica. This episode shed light on the fact that large multinationals exploit the world of Big Data – in which Marketing, Advertising and Politics lead the way – to enrich themselves.
Web 3.0 and the Blockchain emerged precisely from the need of making users become masters of their own data again, while concurrently guaranteeing the reliability of information. In fact, the blockchain system is a register which, instead of being transcribed in a single point – as what happens with databases, which can be subject to tampering, wearing and breaking precisely for this reason –, loads its users with the same amount of data, and the information owned by a single user is faithfully copied by another user. To enter the blockchain network, it is necessary to become a "node" and to download all the data on the blockchain. After having become a "node", users have the opportunity to check the new information added by other users. This process is necessary, as there are no government bodies that can guarantee the truthfulness of the information; each participating user is thus compelled to tell the truth about the data invoice. The types of information that can be learned from the blockchain are endless. For example, the mechanism through which Bitcoin enters a monetary value in the blockchain can be compared to us announcing in public that we are giving money to a friend; given the presence of witnesses, the friend we are giving money to will not be able to shy away from saying that we have actually made a transaction. The Ethereum chain, on the other hand, does so by inserting Smart Contracts (i.e. scripts) that, once activated by a triggering cause, perform preset actions. Imagine the functioning of a coffee machine: once the coins have been inserted, the smart contract recognizes a value and, if that value is sufficient to buy the selected coffee, the machine will give you the drink. Now, just try to extend this concept to the myriad of automatic interactions that may exist in our world.
Blockchain: how does it work?
The real strength of the blockchain does not lie in guaranteeing the immutability of the data – which in fact can be modified –, but in making it undeniably evident that any tampering has occurred. In fact, anyone who notices the change cannot refrain from saying that there has been a change. The data, which is contained in a "chain of blocks", is enclosed in a cryptographic hash. The hash is a value randomly generated by a mathematical algorithm that takes any data as input, and releases a fixed string code as output. Imagine the social security number: it takes your personal data as input, and releases a unique string which identifies and belongs only to yourself. Any other modified data would inevitably lead to another code, and therefore to another person.
Non Fungible Tokens - or NFT
This paradigm makes the process of transferring the information contained in a transaction much more important than the information itself. NFTs exploit this practice of indirect "non-replicability" to associate hashes to files, whether these are images, videos, audio or documents.
The advantages that the blockchain brings to the IT world are therefore those of having an automaton capable of instantly recognizing fraudulent changes to information, thus guaranteeing the truthfulness of the data obtained without the need for a central authority. This explains the success of NFTs. The guarantee for an artist to be able to demonstrate the digital belonging of a work is something revolutionary, so much so that it led the well-known designer Beeple to sell his NFT artwork “The First 5000 Days” at the most famous auction house, Charlie's, for 69 million dollars.
But NFTs’ use cases and possibilities for expansion are not limited to this. Besides the artistic world, those of fashion, sports and gaming have already joined the race. Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana are just some of the design houses that have begun to create unique digital products. Anthony Hopkins will be the first director to file an NFT film. Crypto.com has partnered with Serie A for the creation of digital trophies, while the Fiorentina football team has started distributing its t-shirts as a digital collection. If we take a look at the world of Gaming and Metaverses, we can mention the boom of projects such as Decentraland or Axie Infinity, in which it is possible to buy unique lands, equipment or clothes. Clothes that – getting back to the world of fashion – will also be present in the Crypto Fashion Week metaverse, the new global event of the fashion world 3.0.
Why is it so important to study the blockchain today?
Knowing how blockchain technology works represents a great advantage today. For instance, FinTech companies, which have experienced an extremely rapid growth due to the Pandemic, are increasingly looking for people who have skills in this field. The number of new cryptocurrencies, tokens, NFTs and other block-chain based projects created increases day by day, requiring an ever-growing number of professional figures equipped with the soft and hard skills necessary to work in this field. Blockchain technology is rapidly becoming part of our everyday life, which is why this is the right moment to acquire knowledge in this field. Many companies are not yet aware of the true potential that lies behind this technology, nor of the pitfalls that they may encounter by stepping into this world without adequate preparation.
What kind of skills are required to work in this field?
According to many job advertisements, the most requested skills are the following:
- A deep understanding of algorithms, data protection, decentralized technologies and data structures.
- A solid background in programming with at least one of these languages: Python, JavaScript, JAVA, C, C ++.
- A general understanding of ledgers, blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
- Skills in performance management and anomaly detection.
- Basic experience in the creation of blockchain-based applications and frameworks.
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