Decentralization with systemic governance

The old paradigm was centralized consensus, where one central database would rule transaction validity. A decentralized scheme breaks with this, transferring authority and trust to a decentralized network and enabling its nodes to continuously and sequentially record transactions on a public block, creating a unique chain—thus the term blockchain. Cryptography (by way of hash codes) secures the authentication of the transaction source, removing the need for a central intermediary. By combining cryptography and blockchain, the system ensures no duplicate recording of the same transaction.

Blockchain system design should preserve the idea of decentralized digital transaction processing, adapting it into a permissioned network, while centralizing some aspects of regulatory compliance and maintenance activity as needed for an enterprise context.