There has been a lot of talks lately about blockchain, making a lot of people wonder what exactly this technology is. Although blockchain’s first application was in 2009 with the bitcoin cryptocurrency, today it is used for countless applications in both the private and public sectors.

Blockchain is a kind of distributed digital ledger to which data is recorded sequentially and permanently in ’blocks’. Each new block is linked to its preceding block with a cryptographic link, forming a ‘chain’. This tamper-proof self-validation of the information permits transactions to be processed and recorded to the chain without having to rely on a third-party certification agent. The ledger is not hosted in one place or managed by a single entity but is shared and accessed by anyone with the appropriate permissions – hence ‘distributed’.

Public access to the blockchain facilitates transparency in transactions and the dissemination of information. In the same context, the control process and the security of transactions are facilitated by the elimination of any possible infringements, precisely because of the public nature of the data. At the same time, the need for intermediaries that increase costs disappears, since all information related to the transaction is encrypted within the blockchain.

It is important to mention the contribution of the University of Nicosia to the global blockchain industry. The University of Nicosia is considered the world's leading institution in terms of Blockchain technology, being the first University to accept bitcoin for tuition fees, the first to introduce a Master’s degree in this field, and the first university to issue academic certificates with this technology, from which the company Block.co was created, transforming the way organizations leverage blockchain technology in the issuance, self-verification, and revocation of digital records. Block.co works with organizations looking for a simplified, secure, and economical way to issue self-validating digital documents. "With the forthcoming legislation covering blockchain technology in Cyprus in 2020, and with the expectation that very soon blockchain proof will be considered as legal evidence in courts, we expect a rapid penetration and adoption of the technology by organizations in both Public and Private sector of our country ", said the CEO of Block.co, Mr. Alexis Nicolaou. These PDFs are 100% immutable and can be independently verified for authenticity by other third parties using a simple validation tool that is placed on your site in seconds. We abide by the principles of Resiliency, Open Access, and Simplicity. With our solution, there is no dependency on any single vendor.” he continued. For more information visit: https://block.co/