Decentralized storage

Blockchain also uses a distributed record-keeping system called a ledger that keeps track of changes to assets within the chain. Unlike a bank or financial accounting system, the ledger isn’t centralized, but is distributed to all the computers in the chain.

Blockchains only differ from other database types by the way they store data. While blockchains can be considered a database , a database is typically not a blockchain. Databases generally don’t use signed blocks to store the data.

The most efficient method is to store a document’s hash on-chain while keeping the whole document elsewhere. The document could be stored in a centralized database or on a distributed file storage system. You would put the document through a secure hash algorithm like SHA-256 and then store the hash in a block.

Blockchain does not store any of its information in a central location. Instead, the blockchain is copied and spread across a network of computers . Whenever a new block is added to the blockchain, every computer on the network updates its blockchain to reflect the change.

Is There Any Blockchain Size Limit? In the last two years, the bitcoin blockchain ledger size has grown from 150 GB to 250 GB . That’s almost 50 GB per year. By 2030, we can see the blockchain ledger size cross more than 1 TB easily.