New developments in blockchain are happening now on a weekly occurrence. The fighting for supremacy between the major forms of cryptocurrency, each vying to show how their blockchain functions are superior to their competitors, is leading to some positive steps forward for the industry as a whole. The latest news comes from Ethereum’s POA Network, offer an open-source framework, as they plan to unveil BlockScout, an open-source block explorer tool for Ethereum. BlockScout will be the first of its kind for the blockchain and will endeavour to let users safely and securely explore transactions, addresses, and balances on Ethereum and its related blockchain networks. Will this encourage more people to buy Ethereum?
Open-Source Block Explorer Improves Usability
The development came from the POA Network’s analysis of its current functionality. They discovered that the existing block explorer options were closed-source and lacked some of the more robust tools that could benefit users. This limited the ability for updates, adding to the development, or integration of sidechain platforms. Sidechain platforms have expanded the functionality of blockchain. They enable a blockchain to move tokens from one blockchain to a separate blockchain and then back again. The rates at which the tokens can be exchanged back are pre-set. By being able to view detailed information about the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain and its ecosystem, users are more able to understand the benefits they would receive in certain exchanges. Users can see blocks, balances and transfers past and present. Intuitively, BlockScout utilises its open-source format to allow anyone to customize the functionality for their own use. This not only shows a level of trust to the user of the interface, but also shows developers what might be lacking in the current system and possibly even offering a solution for this.
What Can Be Done with Smart Contracts?
The open-source also offers smart contract verification and smart contract querying services. Bitcoin (BTC) may have opened the door for what cryptocoin could do, but the development of smart contracts are really showing exactly how people can benefit from them. The digital ledger of blockchain allows for safe and secure contracts between two parties. Ethereum is looking to pave the way in the blockchain revolution with its reliance on smart contracts and the usability that they bring. As data drives the transactions, smart contracts are self-executing, which allows for parties to have peace of mind as the transaction occurs based on a set of data it is responding to. Smart contracts offer greater accuracy and transparency, while also cutting the time in which global transactions can occur. As long as something is quantifiable, it can be entered into a smart contract and benefit from the blockchain’s specific laws and rules that help it stand out. Smart contracts are one of the signalling features that is helping blockchain remain a viable exchange as the future of how they can be used is just starting to be understood by those who might benefit from using them.
A Beta version of the BlockScout open source was released on GitHub for further development by the community in late 2018. 27 community contributors and 2000 commits ended up turning the test into a user-friendly pro-blockchain future platform and one that will likely help many more people who are turning towards Ethereum. While each blockchain cryptocurrency should be viewed on their own merits, analysing how they would work together and inspire each other is tantamount to ensuring the impending blockchain revolution occurs. The POA Network is extremely grateful to the hard work of the entire community and cites the collaboration from the community as a major reason for its success.
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