Blockchain without an internet connection?
The Internet is an inevitable thing one can think of! Including blockchain technology, the internet is the one that powers many innovations like blockchain technology. Blockchain haters have always trolled the technology saying that the technology is a fad and that if we shut down the internet for a day, then the blockchain transactions will come to a halt. Many blockchain software development firms are working to find solutions to the blockchain without censorship. A couple of years back blockchain without internet connections were inevitable, but here we are now posting blogs on how many ways we can use blockchain platforms without internet connection.
Ways To Use The Bitcoin Network Without An Internet Connection
Though blockchain without the Internet is in its early stages, here is a list of ways how blockchain can be used without the Internet connection.
- Offline transactions
Offline transactions are the most simple and temporary solution for using blockchain transactions without the Internet. In offline transactions, some blockchain-based systems allow for offline transactions to be conducted by using hardware wallets or through SMS. These wallets store the private keys required to access the funds, and transactions can be signed offline and then broadcast to the network once an internet connection is established. A few examples of such SMS-based services are SMSPushTX and Machankura. A report by Caribou backs up the statement: 94% of financial transactions in Africa are through USSD, the protocol used to send text messages, whereas just 6% of these transactions are made via mobile apps thus making Machankura reach millions of people in Africa.
Offline transactions, in addition to adding extra security layers, might theoretically enable complete censorship resistance for cryptocurrencies. The ability to sign, send, validate, receive, and record value transactions without the use of the internet may also be essential for assuring global cryptocurrency adoption.
- Mesh Networks
Mesh Networks aims at creating a truly decentralized network that doesn’t depend on any external entity like central authority or internet connection. It showcases real Peer to Peer (P2P) transactions. For example, SmartMeshTM allows the blockchain to overcome the internet mandatory boundary with a protocol that is an open-source technology that can realize decentralized, real-time, safe, convenient, low-fee, off-chain, and offline cryptocurrency transfers and transactions. It has built-in blockchain light nodes and extends the Raiden and Lightning Networks second layer architecture network protocols allowing internet-free digital payments and transactions. Also, the Pony Direct or the txTenna can be used for transmitting transactions to the Bitcoin network via the goTenna, a long-range, off-grid mobile mesh networking that relays data among devices that have txTenna.
- Satellite Networks
Blockchain-based systems can be designed to work with satellite networks to provide connectivity in areas where internet access is limited or non-existent. This approach has provided blockchain-based payment systems and other services in remote areas. An example of such a satellite-based transaction service is “The Blockstream”. The Blockstream Satellite network broadcasts the Bitcoin blockchain across the world for free 24 hours a day, seven days a week, protecting against network outages without depending on internet connections and allowing people in locations without stable internet access to utilize Bitcoin.
Is blockchain open to everyone?
A public blockchain is non-restrictive and permissionless, and anyone with internet access can sign on to a blockchain platform to become an authorized node. But, new data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations’ specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs) reveals that an estimated 37 percent of the world’s population nearly, 2.9 billion people have still never used the Internet. So, the answer is no!! Blockchain technology is not open to everyone, but with such inventions, we can make blockchain available to all! Having such innovations to use offline can help blockchains to be used by everyone, talk about real blockchain neutrality or simply blockchain for all. To find out more about how BSEtec, a blockchain development company could help your business, visit BSEtec.
