Blockchain tutorial 25: Testnet and faucets
This is part 25 of the Blockchain tutorial explaining what a testnet is and what faucets are.
This tutorial explains the following:
- what a testnet is
- what the purpose is of a testnet
- show you a Bitcoin testnet block explorer
- show you an Ethereum testnet block explorer
- what a Bitcoin testnet address looks like
- what a faucet is
In this video series different topics will be explained which will help you to understand blockchain.
Bitcoin released as open source software in 2009 is a cryptocurrency invented by Satoshi Nakamoto (unidentified person or group of persons).
After the introduction of Bitcoin many Bitcoin alternatives were created. These alternate cryptocurrencies are called Altcoins (Litecoin, Dodgecoin etc).
Bitcoin's underlying technology is called Blockchain.
The Blockchain is a distributed decentralized incorruptible database (ledger) that records blocks of digital information. Each block contains a timestamp and a link to a previous block.
Soon people realises that there many other use cases where the Blockchain technology can be applied and not just as a cryptocurrency application.
New Blockchain platforms were created based on the Blockchain technology, one of which is called Ethereum.
Ethereum focuses on running programming code, called smart contracts, on any decentralized application.
Using the new Blockchain platforms, Blockchain technology can be used in supply chain management, healthcare, real estate, identity management, voting, internet of things, etcetera, just to name a few.
Today there is a growing interest in Blockchain not only in the financial sector but also in other sectors.
Explaining how Blockchain works is not easy and for many the Blockchain technology remains an elusive concept.
This video series tries to explain Blockchain to a large audience but from the bottom up.
Keywords often used in Blockchain conversation will be explained.
Each Blockchain video is short and to the point.
It is recommended to watch each video sequentially as I may refer to certain Blockchain topics explained earlier.
The presentation used in this video tutorial can be found at:
http://www.mobilefish.com/developer/blockchain/blockchain_quickguide_tutorial.html